Stuff You Should Know History of the Trail of Tears, Part I
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Mar 7, 2017 A look at the forces behind forced Native removals, from westward expansion and settler pressure to trade debt and land cessions. Discussion of assimilation efforts, the Five Civilized Tribes, and internal factional conflicts. Politics, gold, cotton, and Andrew Jackson’s rise are explored alongside legal fights and state actions that set the stage for mass migration.
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Expansion Forced A Binary Choice
- Early U.S. expansion forced a choice: assimilate Native peoples or push them off their land.
- The nation repeatedly chose displacement and conflict over coexistence.
Trade Created A Debt Trap
- European goods and credit created dependency and debt among many tribes.
- Debt was then converted into coerced land cessions by traders and officials.
Assimilation Increased Vulnerability
- 'Enculturation' saw some tribes adopt Euro-American institutions and wealth to gain status.
- That adoption made them more vulnerable politically and economically to settler demands.