Process Paper

           As we considered topics for this year’s NHD, we chose to research Andrew Jackson and his battle with the Cherokees.   This topic has to do with the theme of rights and responsibilities because it is unfair that Andrew Jackson forced the Cherokees out of their home and took away their rights. This had major impact in the United States and is remembered as one of the more notable examples of Indians being forced out of their homes. This era in history is known as “The Trail of Tears”.

            First we looked into a letter written by Davy Crocket to the President. The letter was against the removal of the Cherokees due to the Indian Removal Act. We saw how Andrew Jackson and his vice president, Martin Vanburen were continuing to force Indian removal. Crocket, and many others were upset and thought the act was wrong and unfair. We read through an article, “Indian wars and Dispossession”. This article showed us how many Indians were forced to move out of their homes many different times. In the article on Indian removal we saw that Congress believed moving Indians would be beneficial to them. We learned more about Andrew Jackson himself through two articles named “Andrew Jackson” explaining his life in different “eras” of his career. In “Trail of Tears” we were given the history behind the actual Trail of Tears. We saw how the terrible things happened that turned it into a national landmark. In “Many of the Cherokees Forced along the Trail of Tears” we read how the Cherokees were treated and how the Trail of Tears first begun. It also explains how rough the journey was and how many were killed along the way. In the painting “Trail of Tears”, we saw how so many Cherokees were forced to go with so little and how they were forced to go though the Trail of Tears on horses being forced along, by soldiers

            We decided to do a website because we have run a website before and we are skilled at this. Boards have a limited amount of room, but on a website, you have unlimited space to write information about your topic.  Making a website helps the environment by saving paper.

            The Trail of Tears was a turning point in history because of Indian rights and the   responsibility of the government. The Indian removal act was nullified as many people saw how it was unconstitutional and saw that the government was wrong in their decision to make the Indian removal act. The events that led up to the Trail of Tears are Andrew Jackson’s point of view on the situation and he was given much hate over it. The Trail of Tears is one of the most memorable and notable examples of Indians being forced out of their homeland and being treated horribly.  The Trail of Tears is remembered as an era revolving around rights and responsibilities being demolished in the Indian society, and how it affected many.

PROCESS PAPER

Brian Kirsch

Alex Garmon

Jordan Schulman