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Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
The Trail Where They Cried
Dear Diary,
I saw the soldiers when they came. They came to the village chief and demanded to speak to him. Mother pulled me away into the woods and I saw all the rest of my friends being similarly herded by their mothers. I heard raised voices coming from the camp. Some of the voices were harsh and alien to my ears. They yelled about a treaty that they say had been signed, allowing us to be forcibly removed from our homes. I feel a shiver run down my back. The Creek who used to live around here have already been forced away. So have the Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Seminoles. Are we next? Are our days on our ancestral home numbered? No, we are the Cherokee, the Principle People. They can not force us from our homes. This land has always been our land. They came here not long ago, this is the land where we were born.
The chief's voice raises in anger.
"We will not recognize your corrupt treaty!" he yells, "That treaty was approved by a minority of the Cherokee Nation! It is not a real treaty! We will stay on this land!" A man yells back.
"No, you won't! The United States government has a treaty with your tribe. It was approved by Congress and signed by the president! If you resist us you also resist Congress."
"Oh, Congress. Congress has done so much to help us." There is a sarcastic note in his voice. "They turned a blind eye to the Burnt Corn Creek massacre of our neighbors and they turned an even blinder eye to the sufferings of the people who were forced out. But still blinder to the "Settlers" who come and drive us from our homes as if we were only a group of cattle in a field they wanted to cultivate. But no, they care about the cattle. Congress must be blind to not notice what has happened under their license. In fact, I wish they would go blind! But before that let them see our people being forced from our homes with only the rags on our backs and being forced to march out like you suggest. And let them know that this is their doing. The ending of our race, the guilt of killing a people who have more claim to this land than you since this is the land of their ancestors, let all of the knowledge of that blame reside with Congress." The man seemed to be annoyed.
"Whether or not you blame Congress you still have to leave." He said more quietly. "Gather the women and children from where you have them gathered in the forest, you have 15 minutes." The chief snarled in Cherokee.
"Eagled eyed, huh?" he raised his voice but instead of defiance there was only anger. "Come out. These men say we have only 15 minutes before we are forced to go, let us prepare for this journey forced on us by the traitorous Congress." Slowly, like shadows, we emerge from the forest to stare at the people who will be forcing us away. My mind is whirling in shock. It is happening to us. This isn't real, it can't be. This is happening to someone else, not to me. But is me who must, with mother and father and my two year old brother, pack up all we can bring with us. It is still me who finds herself in a throng of crying children out of the way of parents. Some of the older children cling to brothers and sisters. My brother is in my arms but my arms are not really a part of me. I am in shock. He looks up toward me and asks.
"What's going on? Why is everyone so angry? Are we moving camp?" His innocence breaks through the wall of denial, releasing a flood of tears.
"In a way," I wail and hug him closer to me. He squirms in my arms. I feel a hand on my shoulder. One of the older girls who suffered one of the invader's diseases a year ago and who now is still weak is looking down at me. She sits beside me and holds out her arms. I look in confusion at her. She smiles.
"Your brother, let me hold him." I put him into her arms and she rocks him back and forth singing a Cherokee lullaby. Her voice lulls him and he stops wiggling. She looks again at me. "That's better. Now you won't have that little worm fidgeting in your lap." I giggle. The man in the army coat walks by us and our laughter stops. The girl beside me glares up at him with her dark eyes flashing a defiant challenge. They seem to say "You have given me your diseases, stolen my land, persecuted my people, seen us not as equals, and now you force us to leave. You may be able to force my body but you will never force my mind. You will never control my mind." He feels the intense gaze of her hatred on his back and turns uncomfortably to see who it comes from. He scans the crowd for adults but they are out of sight and the only ones in sight have their heads hanging to the ground in defeat. He glances across the line of children and sees us. I too glare at him. I try to project that message also through my eyes and he seems to receive it. "I will never forget this." Our eyes say, "I will never forget this and someday this will come back to haunt you. Even if my body dies along the way you will never kill my spirit."
Dear Diary,
The last entry was a week ago. We were forced out and made to march along to a crude shelter where we are now staying. This is a bad place. We are crowded together here and the sanitation is bad. They say that we will stay here for a while before we begin the long walk to our new "home". The soldiers do all they can to make us submit but we never will. They can make our bodies live in filth but our minds soar free of the cages. Our little rebellion gave hope to the others and now whenever we see a soldier we tell them exactly what we think of them, with our eyes. Almost none of them can make eye contact with any of us now.
Dear Diary,
We have been forced out. After six months here we have been sent out of here too. We are now marching. But not all of us march. Mother is dead and so are many of the others. I still let the older girl help me with my brother. I carry him on my back now. He has even learned to send his confusion into his eyes so that the soldiers know what they are doing to the innocent. They find him the hardest to look at. We are all half starved and riddled with disease. We march through the cold weather out past the city. A few white women stand by the side of the road. They see us and they cry. At least some of the invaders have a heart. But the soldiers do not lead out a defeated people but a race who is still alive and fighting. Our fighting spirit never will die.
Dear Diary,
The defiant words I wrote last seem so far away. We are bitterly cold, huddled into cloth shelters and eating inadequate food after marching all day. We are exhausted in mind and body. A few days more of this and we will not be able to go on.
Dear Diary,
I will never forgive them. Ever. My brother is now dead. Despite all my care and extra food he perished from a combination of starvation and cold. The soldiers pulled him out of my arms when they learned of his death and yanked his little stiff body away. I struck out at one of them who turned raised a hand, then shuddered under the force of all of our eyes, and walked away. He is buried in an unmarked grave along this trail. We are all crying. The older girl who helped me to care for him is beside me. She seems to be worse too. Her already exhausted body is weakening fast. I do not know if she will make it. Sleep claims us both and we drift off into a tear filled and numbing slumber.
Journal-
The two girls with the defiant eyes were found this morning. They were dead, frozen to death from the bitter cold. They reflect a large group of the children who have died. Even though their little bodies were icy to the touch, their eyes flashed fire. It seemed that they had woken up before they died and were waiting for the end. I cannot look their parents in the eyes. I cannot even look at the faces of their bodies. The boldness that jumps at me even from their dead bodies is astonishing. We buried them in a grave beside the little boy who died yesterday. Before we buried them I had to put some of their hair over their eyes. I had to so that I couldn't see their accusing faces. The hard dirt closed over them and I tried to forget.
-Army Soldier
"The Trail of Tears - Cherokee Indians forcibly removed from North Georgia"
(April 4, 2008)
"Trail Of Tears"
(April 6, 2008)
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Summary of Our Chapters
Summary of North and South and Andrew Jackson's Life Story
The worlds of North and South were very different. The terrain of the Northern coast line was rocky and filled with inlets that made good natural harbors. Inland there was rocky shallow soil that was not much good for farming. Inland still further there was good farming by Iowa and Michigan. This area formed what was called Bread Basket the primary crops there were corn and wheat. The North had harsh long winters and short summers.
The North made money mainly off of innovation and creating more effective methods of manufacturing. It also had the industries of shipping and was home to most of the factories of the young country. Around Iowa the main industry was farming. In the North where rivers were faster and the river were not as good for transport the use of railroads became important. The North's main invention were the Textile Mills. These were serviced by young farm girls who were eager for jobs.
In the North you could climb the social ladder by being innovative. At the top of the pyramid were the most powerful people, they were mostly whites. The company owners would usually be the people at the top, they would be white though. The second from the top was the Assistant manager fro say it would be still the white people. Under them were the workers who weren't paid much and worked in the factories. However even these low paid workers had a chance to rise to the highest class in society. Under them are the new immigrants without jobs, which were particularly Irish immigrants. Also the lowest class of society were freed slaves, although they were free they still were denied many different rights.
The North was densely populated in busy, unhygienic cities where garbage was frequently thrown in the street.
By contrast the South had long summers and shorter milder winters. The south was flatter and generally good for farming especially cotton. Lazy rivers that came up through the land and made transport by water easy. The South had the industries of cotton and tobacco and relied on steamboats to bring these crops to the North for sale to the rest of the world.
A Northern boy called Eli Whitney came to work as a tutor in the South and was interested by the problem of cotton. He invented a machine called the Cotton Gin that would clean cotton faster, intending to lighten the load of slaves. Instead it turned out the cotton gin brought more slaves from other places to come and work for the South.
The South was sparsely populated in plantations which were not very near the towns. Most trade was conducted on plantation owners private docks.
Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Acts
Andrew Jackson was born 1767. His father died ten years before he was born. His mother and his two brothers were poor. In his school experiences he was reckless and violent. There was even a quote stated about Jackson and his young years. He would pick a fight at the drop of a hat, according to a friend, “and he'd drop the hat himself.”
When he was 13 the American Revolution broke out. Young Jackson and his older brother Robert enlisted in the local militia. He was captured by the British and was ordered by a British Officer to clean his boots. Jackson said that he was a prisoner of war and should be treated as such. The angry officer slashed at Jackson with his sword and scarred his face and hand. His brother died of a disease contracted as a prisoner and this event ruined Jackson's health for life.
Andrew Jackson decided to become a lawyer and went to train in Salisbury, North Carolina. After he became a lawyer he moved to Nashville. He earned enough money to buy slaves and land and then set himself up as a planter. Jackson always had a hot temper, something he retained even as president. A man named Charles Dickinson insulted Jackson's wife, Rachel. Jackson challenged him to a duel even though the man was supposed to be one of the best shots in Tennessee. Dickinson shot first and hit Jackson near the heart. Jackson stiffened and fired a single shot. He killed him. When Jackson's friends examined his wound and discovered that the bullet could not be removed since it was lodged close to his heart. Jackson claimed “I would have hit him if he'd shot me through the brain.”
Jackson became a senator and a congressman though he is best known for his defense of the city of New Orleans during the War of 1812. This earned him his nickname “Old Hickory” since his troops said he was “as hard as the hardest wood in creation”. In one battle won by General Jackson, British dead and wounded were at almost 2,000 and Americans had lost 6 men and around 8 had been wounded. The public began to admire the General.
After the war he was asked by his friends to become a presidential candidate in the election 1824. He allowed them to run his campaign. There was a four way tie between Adams, Jackson, Clay and another candidate. Clay told his backers in the house to support Adams. This gave Adams the presidency. Clay then got a position in Adams’ cabinet. Jackson supporters claimed this was a corrupt bargain. They used this to attack for the next campaign. In 1828 his supporters began campaigning again. They used the “Bargain” and Jackson’s status as a self-made man. They used his defense of New Orleans and sang campaign songs and wore hickory badges. They appealed to the common population. He was “The People’s President”. They also used a tactic called “mudslinging” involving slinging reckless accusations at Adams. Supporters of the president responded by using old exaggerated stories about Jackson’s wife.
In the end Jackson won the election riding on the votes of the working class. The richer population was in despair. His wife sadly died right before he took office. His opponents claimed that he had established something called the Spoils System. This was a system where political loyalty was rewarded with government positions. They claimed that he was replacing loyal republicans with his own men, including the future president, the Red Fox, Martin Van Buren. In reality only ten percent of officeholders were replaced and many of them were corrupt.
Jackson had several notorious actions such as the ruthless removal of the Native Americans with the Indian Removal Acts. Jackson himself was a famous Indian Fighter. It was under him the infamous “Trail of Tears”, forced removal of the Cherokee took place. His other actions included his battle against the Bank of the United States. He believe that the Bank was a corrupt organization that took the people’s money and made the rich richer. After a long battle he managed to destroy it. The people elected him by an even wider margin.
After two terms he was in feeble health and desiring only the peace of his home. He left the presidency to Martin Van Buren who only served one term before being defeated. After staying connected to Washington politics for the remainder of his life he died and was buried next to his wife Rachel.
The worlds of North and South were very different. The terrain of the Northern coast line was rocky and filled with inlets that made good natural harbors. Inland there was rocky shallow soil that was not much good for farming. Inland still further there was good farming by Iowa and Michigan. This area formed what was called Bread Basket the primary crops there were corn and wheat. The North had harsh long winters and short summers.
The North made money mainly off of innovation and creating more effective methods of manufacturing. It also had the industries of shipping and was home to most of the factories of the young country. Around Iowa the main industry was farming. In the North where rivers were faster and the river were not as good for transport the use of railroads became important. The North's main invention were the Textile Mills. These were serviced by young farm girls who were eager for jobs.
In the North you could climb the social ladder by being innovative. At the top of the pyramid were the most powerful people, they were mostly whites. The company owners would usually be the people at the top, they would be white though. The second from the top was the Assistant manager fro say it would be still the white people. Under them were the workers who weren't paid much and worked in the factories. However even these low paid workers had a chance to rise to the highest class in society. Under them are the new immigrants without jobs, which were particularly Irish immigrants. Also the lowest class of society were freed slaves, although they were free they still were denied many different rights.
The North was densely populated in busy, unhygienic cities where garbage was frequently thrown in the street.
By contrast the South had long summers and shorter milder winters. The south was flatter and generally good for farming especially cotton. Lazy rivers that came up through the land and made transport by water easy. The South had the industries of cotton and tobacco and relied on steamboats to bring these crops to the North for sale to the rest of the world.
A Northern boy called Eli Whitney came to work as a tutor in the South and was interested by the problem of cotton. He invented a machine called the Cotton Gin that would clean cotton faster, intending to lighten the load of slaves. Instead it turned out the cotton gin brought more slaves from other places to come and work for the South.
The South was sparsely populated in plantations which were not very near the towns. Most trade was conducted on plantation owners private docks.
Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Acts
Andrew Jackson was born 1767. His father died ten years before he was born. His mother and his two brothers were poor. In his school experiences he was reckless and violent. There was even a quote stated about Jackson and his young years. He would pick a fight at the drop of a hat, according to a friend, “and he'd drop the hat himself.”
When he was 13 the American Revolution broke out. Young Jackson and his older brother Robert enlisted in the local militia. He was captured by the British and was ordered by a British Officer to clean his boots. Jackson said that he was a prisoner of war and should be treated as such. The angry officer slashed at Jackson with his sword and scarred his face and hand. His brother died of a disease contracted as a prisoner and this event ruined Jackson's health for life.
Andrew Jackson decided to become a lawyer and went to train in Salisbury, North Carolina. After he became a lawyer he moved to Nashville. He earned enough money to buy slaves and land and then set himself up as a planter. Jackson always had a hot temper, something he retained even as president. A man named Charles Dickinson insulted Jackson's wife, Rachel. Jackson challenged him to a duel even though the man was supposed to be one of the best shots in Tennessee. Dickinson shot first and hit Jackson near the heart. Jackson stiffened and fired a single shot. He killed him. When Jackson's friends examined his wound and discovered that the bullet could not be removed since it was lodged close to his heart. Jackson claimed “I would have hit him if he'd shot me through the brain.”
Jackson became a senator and a congressman though he is best known for his defense of the city of New Orleans during the War of 1812. This earned him his nickname “Old Hickory” since his troops said he was “as hard as the hardest wood in creation”. In one battle won by General Jackson, British dead and wounded were at almost 2,000 and Americans had lost 6 men and around 8 had been wounded. The public began to admire the General.
After the war he was asked by his friends to become a presidential candidate in the election 1824. He allowed them to run his campaign. There was a four way tie between Adams, Jackson, Clay and another candidate. Clay told his backers in the house to support Adams. This gave Adams the presidency. Clay then got a position in Adams’ cabinet. Jackson supporters claimed this was a corrupt bargain. They used this to attack for the next campaign. In 1828 his supporters began campaigning again. They used the “Bargain” and Jackson’s status as a self-made man. They used his defense of New Orleans and sang campaign songs and wore hickory badges. They appealed to the common population. He was “The People’s President”. They also used a tactic called “mudslinging” involving slinging reckless accusations at Adams. Supporters of the president responded by using old exaggerated stories about Jackson’s wife.
In the end Jackson won the election riding on the votes of the working class. The richer population was in despair. His wife sadly died right before he took office. His opponents claimed that he had established something called the Spoils System. This was a system where political loyalty was rewarded with government positions. They claimed that he was replacing loyal republicans with his own men, including the future president, the Red Fox, Martin Van Buren. In reality only ten percent of officeholders were replaced and many of them were corrupt.
Jackson had several notorious actions such as the ruthless removal of the Native Americans with the Indian Removal Acts. Jackson himself was a famous Indian Fighter. It was under him the infamous “Trail of Tears”, forced removal of the Cherokee took place. His other actions included his battle against the Bank of the United States. He believe that the Bank was a corrupt organization that took the people’s money and made the rich richer. After a long battle he managed to destroy it. The people elected him by an even wider margin.
After two terms he was in feeble health and desiring only the peace of his home. He left the presidency to Martin Van Buren who only served one term before being defeated. After staying connected to Washington politics for the remainder of his life he died and was buried next to his wife Rachel.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Our Group
My group has the topic of the differences (both socially and economically) between the North and South. Since we are a group of five we also have the topic of Andrew Jackson's presidency and the Indian Removal Acts under the afore mentioned president. The part of this project that appeals most to me is studying the topics I do not understand as well such as President Jackson's battle with the United States Bank. I am also interested in the Indian Removal Acts and the Trail of Tears. These topics are interesting to me since our U.S. history textbook does not fully cover these points. My greatest fear for the project is that I will have challenges with group work since I often do and this usually impedes group working ability. My hope is that to alleviate such a risk my group will allow me to handle the Indian Removal Acts. I would then do that part of the project and they would split the other parts and at the end we would teach each other before teaching the class.
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