Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears
Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet
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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.
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?
- The law applied unless the Cherokee Nation objected
- It was void everywhere in Georgia
- The law was valid inside Cherokee territory but not outside
- It had no legal power there, in the Court's reading
Why did the ruling in card A not stop removal? Which chain do cards B and C best support, Esme asks?
- Ross signed the treaty first, and then Georgia ignored the Court's ruling in Worcester
- Georgia obeyed the Court, so a treaty was needed, and the Cherokee Nation signed it as a whole
- No one enforced the ruling, and later a small group signed a treaty that the Senate ratified
- The Court reversed itself in 1835, which allowed the Ridge Party to sign and the Senate to ratify
To learn why the Ridge Party chose to sign in 1835, which source is best, Jun asks?
- Card C, because it names the signers and says where they signed
- Ross's protest against the treaty, written after the signing in 1835
- Jackson's 1830 message to Congress about the Indian Removal Act
- Letters and speeches by the signers from 1835 and 1836
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 was tricked into ratifying and did not know who had signed the treaty
- The Cherokee Nation's council had approved it, and the Senate knew it had
- The Senate had been told the signers lacked official authority, yet ratified
- The Senate rejected the treaty and sent it back after learning who had signed it
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?
- Throw out both cards, since a source that has the wrong month cannot be trusted
- 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
- Say the Senate approved it in 1836 and check the Senate's own records for the date
Card A is a Supreme Court opinion. What is it best evidence for, Milo asks?
- How Georgia carried out the ruling
- How the Court read the law and treaties
- What most Cherokee people wanted
- How President Jackson responded
Cards A and C are three years apart. What changed for the Cherokee Nation's position, Noah asks?
- The Court ruled against the Nation in 1832, but a treaty in 1835 protected it
- The Court backed the Nation in 1832, but by 1835 a treaty gave removal legal form
- The Court had decided the treaty in 1832, three years before the Nation lost its land
- The Nation agreed to the treaty in 1835 as a whole, and the Court's ruling was set aside
A student writes: "Congress did not know that most Cherokee people opposed the treaty." How strong is that claim, given card C, Pia asks?
- 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
- Strong: card C says Ross supported the treaty, so Congress heard no objection
- Weak: card C says Ross's petition reached Congress with over 15,000 signatures
Card C says over 15,000 people signed Ross's petition, and card D says the tribe had 16,000 members. What can a student safely say, Tala asks?
- Nearly all, about nine in ten or more, though the counts may differ in method
- About 1 percent signed, a very small share of the tribe's 16,000 members
- Nothing, since petitions never count as evidence of what the signers really wanted
- About half of the tribe signed, because 15,000 is roughly half of the tribe
A student says Jackson let Georgia ignore the Court because he agreed with Georgia. How strong is that claim, given card B, Zee asks?
- Unsupported: card B never mentions Jackson, so it cannot support any claim about him
- Not at all: card B says Jackson enforced the ruling and sent troops against Georgia
- Fully proved: card B quotes Jackson refusing to enforce the ruling against Georgia
- Partly: card B says he sided with Georgia and did not act, but gives none of his own words