Two Views of Indian Removal – Play online

Westward expansion

Read the passage. Then answer the questions.

A Growing Nation and the Nations Already There

1In 1803, the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France for about $15 million. The purchase roughly doubled the size of the country. President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the new land and look for a route to the Pacific Ocean. From 1804 to 1806, their Corps of Discovery met many Native nations, including the Mandan, Shoshone and Nez Perce. Sacagawea, a Lemhi Shoshone woman, helped the group as an interpreter.

2As settlers moved west, many white Americans came to believe that the United States was meant to spread across the whole continent. In 1845 a newspaper writer, John O'Sullivan, gave this belief a name: "manifest destiny." The Native nations already living on these lands saw them as their homes, and many of those lands were protected by treaties with the United States.

3In the Southeast, the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole nations held lands that settlers and state governments wanted. The Cherokee had farms, schools and a written constitution adopted in 1827. In 1828 they began printing a newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix, in English and in Cherokee, using the writing system Sequoyah had created. After gold was found on Cherokee land in Georgia in the late 1820s, Georgia passed laws claiming control over that land.

4In 1830, Congress narrowly passed the Indian Removal Act, and President Andrew Jackson signed it. The law let the President offer Native nations land west of the Mississippi River, in what was called Indian Territory, in exchange for their lands in the East. In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), the Supreme Court ruled that Georgia's laws had no force inside the Cherokee Nation, but the ruling was not enforced. In 1835, a small group of Cherokee who did not speak for the Cherokee government signed the Treaty of New Echota, agreeing to move. Principal Chief John Ross and more than 15,000 Cherokee signed a protest against the treaty, but the U.S. Senate approved it.

5In 1838, U.S. soldiers forced the Cherokee who remained into camps and then sent them west on a journey of more than 1,000 miles. Historians estimate that about 4,000 of roughly 16,000 Cherokee died from disease, hunger and cold during the removal. The Cherokee remember this journey as the Trail of Tears.

Draw a line from each term to the description that fits it.

The phrase "manifest destiny" was first printed in 1845. What does that date suggest about the belief behind it?

A. Americans were acting on the idea before it had a name.B. The phrase led to the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.C. Lewis and Clark first used the phrase on their trip.D. The belief faded once the Cherokee had been removed.

How many years after the Indian Removal Act did U.S. soldiers force the remaining Cherokee west? years

Paragraph 5 says historians estimate that about 4,000 Cherokee died. Why does the passage give an estimate instead of an exact number?

A. Historians disagree about whether the removal took place.B. Records from the time were incomplete or lost.C. The Cherokee did not have a way to write records.D. The government ordered the true number kept secret.

Two accounts from 1830

Read both accounts. Both are adapted, shortened and put into modern English. Then answer the questions.

Account A: Adapted from President Andrew Jackson's message to Congress, December 1830

It gives me pleasure to report that the government's kind policy of moving the Indians beyond the white settlements is nearly complete. It will end conflicts between the national government and the states over Indian lands. It will open large areas to white settlers and make the states stronger. It will free the Indians from the power of the states and let them live in their own way, under their own leaders. Is it unkind for the government to buy their lands, pay for their move and support them in a new home?

Account B: Adapted from a petition the Cherokee Nation sent to Congress, July 1830

We wish to remain on the land of our fathers. We have a natural right to it, and treaties with the United States promised to protect it. The land in the west is unknown to us, and we hear that much of it lacks water and good timber. There we would be surrounded by other nations who may see us as strangers and enemies. Here we have built farms, schools and laws of our own. We ask Congress to keep the promises made in those treaties.

Look at who wrote Account A, for whom and when. What was its most likely purpose?

A. To persuade lawmakers that removal was a good policyB. To announce the Supreme Court's ruling on GeorgiaC. To describe the Trail of Tears after it was overD. To report the wishes of the Cherokee to Congress

Which reason in Account A shows most clearly the interests of white settlers and the states?

A. The government would keep its treaty promises.B. Gold mining in Georgia would come to an end.C. Native nations could live under their own leaders.D. Large areas would open to settlers, strengthening states.

Account A suggests the West will be a good new home. Circle the sentence in Account B that most directly disputes this.

Sort each claim by the account that makes it.

Which fact from the passage best corroborates Account B's claim that the Cherokee wished to stay on their land?

A. Gold was found on Cherokee land in Georgia in the late 1820s.B. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act by a narrow vote in 1830.C. More than 15,000 Cherokee signed a protest against the 1835 treaty.D. Lewis and Clark met the Shoshone and the Nez Perce on their trip.

10.

Account A says removal would free Native nations "from the power of the states." Which event offered the Cherokee a different way to be free of Georgia's laws without moving?

A. They moved to Indian Territory right after 1830.B. The Supreme Court ruled Georgia's laws had no force on their land.C. A small group signed the Treaty of New Echota.D. They helped Lewis and Clark find a route west.

11.

Which account gives a more accurate picture of what removal would mean for the Cherokee? Make a claim, consider each author's purpose, and use at least two details from the accounts and the passage as evidence.