Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   The Cherokee Nation and the courts, 1832 to 1836 (cards A to D). Card A, Worcester v. Georgia (1832; opinion of Chief Justice John Marshall for the Supreme Court; spelling as printed): "The Cherokee nation, then, is a distinct community occupying its own territory, with boundaries accurately described, in which the laws of Georgia can have no force, and which the citizens of Georgia have no right to enter, but with the assent of the Cherokees themselves, or in conformity with treaties, and with the acts of congress." Card B, a summary in our words from the National Park Service: the Court ruled that the federal government, not Georgia, had authority inside Cherokee boundaries. Georgia ignored the ruling. The courts and the executive branch did nothing to enforce it, and President Jackson, who sided with Georgia, did not act. Card C, a summary in our words from the National Park Service: a group of Cherokee known as the Ridge Party, led by Major Ridge and including John Ridge, Elias Boudinot and Stand Watie, signed a treaty at New Echota in 1835. Most Cherokee, led by Principal Chief John Ross, opposed it. The Senate ratified the treaty in May 1836 even though it knew that no official representative of the Cherokee Nation had signed it. Ross gathered a petition of over 15,000 signatures asking Congress to void the treaty. The petition was ignored. Card D, a summary in our words from the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources: on December 29, 1835, U.S. officials and about 500 Cherokee claiming to speak for a tribe of 16,000 members signed the treaty. This source says the Senate ratified it in March 1836.

2. 1.

   In card A, the Court says "the laws of Georgia can have no force" in Cherokee territory. What does that mean for a Georgia law inside it, Ari asks?

   • It had no legal power there, in the Court's reading
   • The law applied unless the Cherokee Nation objected
   • It was void everywhere in Georgia
   • The law was valid inside Cherokee territory but not outside
3. 2.

   A student writes: "The Supreme Court protected the Cherokee in 1832." How strong is that claim, given cards A and B, Bo asks?

   • Partly: the Court backed the Cherokee in law, but card B says no one enforced it
   • Weak: card B says the Court ruled for Georgia
   • Strong: card A shows the Court backed the Cherokee, so nothing more was needed whatever Georgia did
   • Weak: card A says Georgia could enter Cherokee land freely
4. 3.

   To learn why the Ridge Party chose to sign in 1835, which source is best, Jun asks?

   • Letters and speeches by the signers from 1835 and 1836
   • Jackson's 1830 message to Congress about the Indian Removal Act
   • Ross's protest against the treaty, written after the signing in 1835
   • Card C, because it names the signers and says where they signed
5. 4.

   Card C says the Senate ratified the treaty "even though it knew" that no official representative had signed it. What does that show, Kira asks?

   • The Senate rejected the treaty and sent it back after learning who had signed it
   • The Cherokee Nation's council had approved it, and the Senate knew it had
   • The Senate was tricked into ratifying and did not know who had signed the treaty
   • The Senate had been told the signers lacked official authority, yet ratified
6. 5.

   Cards C and D give different months for the Senate's ratification: May 1836 and March 1836. What should a careful student do, Luz asks?

   • Average the two and say April, since that is halfway between the two dates
   • Pick March, since earlier dates are safer and more likely to be correct
   • Throw out both cards, since a source that has the wrong month cannot be trusted
   • Say the Senate approved it in 1836 and check the Senate's own records for the date
7. 6.

   Card A is a Supreme Court opinion. What is it best evidence for, Milo asks?

   • What most Cherokee people wanted
   • How the Court read the law and treaties
   • How Georgia carried out the ruling
   • How President Jackson responded
8. 7.

   Cards A and C are three years apart. What changed for the Cherokee Nation's position, Noah asks?

   • The Nation agreed to the treaty in 1835 as a whole, and the Court's ruling was set aside
   • The Court ruled against the Nation in 1832, but a treaty in 1835 protected it
   • The Court had decided the treaty in 1832, three years before the Nation lost its land
   • The Court backed the Nation in 1832, but by 1835 a treaty gave removal legal form
9. 8.

   A student writes: "Congress did not know that most Cherokee people opposed the treaty." How strong is that claim, given card C, Pia asks?

   • Strong: card C says Ross supported the treaty, so Congress heard no objection
   • Weak: card C says the Senate asked each Cherokee person to vote on the treaty
   • Strong: card C says the petition was lost in the mail and did not reach Congress
   • Weak: card C says Ross's petition reached Congress with over 15,000 signatures
10. 9.

    Card D says about 500 Cherokee signed for a tribe of 16,000. About what share signed, and what is the limit of that figure, Ren asks?

    • About 3 percent, though "about 500" is a rounded count
    • About 30 percent, and the figure is exact
    • Exactly 3 percent, because both numbers come from official reports
    • About 0.3 percent, a very tiny share
11. 10.

    A student says Jackson let Georgia ignore the Court because he agreed with Georgia. How strong is that claim, given card B, Zee asks?

    • Partly: card B says he sided with Georgia and did not act, but gives none of his own words
    • Not at all: card B says Jackson enforced the ruling and sent troops against Georgia
    • Unsupported: card B never mentions Jackson, so it cannot support any claim about him
    • Fully proved: card B quotes Jackson refusing to enforce the ruling against Georgia