Indian Removal and the Trail of Tears

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Removal, 1828 to 1832 (cards A to D). Card A, a summary in our words: on May 28, 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. It let the president negotiate with Native nations in the Southeast to trade their lands for land west of the Mississippi River. The House of Representatives passed it on May 26 by a vote of 102 to 97. Card B, Andrew Jackson, president, in his message to Congress (December 6, 1830; cuts marked): "It puts an end to all possible danger of collision between the authorities of the general and state governments on account of the Indians. … It will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites; free them from the power of the states; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions …". Card C, George W. Harkins, a Choctaw leader, in a letter to the American people (1832): "It is said that our present movements are our own voluntary acts—such is not the case." and later "Let us alone—we will not harm you, we want rest.". Card D, a summary in our words from the National Park Service: beginning in 1791, treaties between the United States and the Cherokee led to recognition of the Cherokee Nation as a sovereign nation. In 1819 the Cherokee National Council told the federal government it would give up no more land. Gold was found on Cherokee land in northern Georgia in 1829. In 1828 Georgia passed a law declaring the laws of the Cherokee Nation void after June 1, 1830.

2. 1.

   Card B is Jackson's own message to Congress. What is it best evidence for, Ari asks?

   • What Jackson wanted and the reasons he gave
   • What most Americans wanted in 1830
   • What Native leaders thought of removal in 1830
   • What historians later found about removal's effects
3. 2.

   A student writes: "Native nations agreed freely to leave." How strong is that claim, given cards A to C, Esme asks?

   • Weak: card A says the House vote was unanimous
   • Strong: card A says treaties would be negotiated
   • Strong: card B says removal would help them
   • Weak: card C's author says the moves were not voluntary
4. 3.

   Card B was written to Congress, and card C to the American people. How might each audience shape what the writer stresses, Jun asks?

   • Both wrote for Native readers alone, so both stress treaty terms and land boundaries
   • Both writers stressed the dates of the treaties and the sizes of the lands to be traded
   • Jackson wrote to the Choctaw people; Harkins wrote to Congress to ask for fairness
   • Jackson stressed order and benefits to lawmakers; Harkins asked the public for fairness
5. 4.

   In card B Jackson calls Native institutions "rude". What does that word choice show about his view, Kira asks?

   • He judged them lower than his own society's, which supports his case for removal
   • He described them neutrally, as simple, and he did not judge them as lower or higher
   • He was quoting a Cherokee leader, so the word shows how that leader saw the Nation's laws
   • He praised their governments, which supports his case for letting the nations stay
6. 5.

   A student says: "Card B shows Jackson planned the 1838 forced march of the Cherokee." How strong is that claim, Luz asks?

   • Weak: card B is from 1830 and does not mention a march in 1838
   • Strong: card B says Native peoples would be separated from settlements
   • Strong: card A says the Act ordered the army to move the Cherokee
   • Weak: card B says removal would be voluntary
7. 6.

   Card B warns of a "collision" between the general and state governments. Which part of card D best explains it, Milo asks?

   • The 1791 treaties made Georgia a sovereign nation, with power over the Cherokee Nation's laws
   • Gold was found in Georgia in 1829, so the federal government left Cherokee land to Georgia
   • Treaties recognized a sovereign Cherokee Nation while Georgia declared Cherokee laws void
   • The Cherokee National Council asked Georgia to take over its land in 1819, and Georgia agreed
8. 7.

   Cards A and D both bear on the Indian Removal Act. What do they support together, Noah asks?

   • The Act came after the Cherokee Nation had refused to give up more land
   • The Act passed Congress unanimously after Georgia's law, so Congress agreed without a split
   • The Act was written because the Cherokee had asked to move to the West
   • The Act ended the treaties with the Cherokee and let Georgia take their land
9. 8.

   A student writes: "Americans were united behind removal in 1830." How strong is that claim, given card A, Pia asks?

   • Strong: card B shows the whole country agreed with Jackson
   • Weak: a 102 to 97 House vote shows a divided Congress
   • Strong: card A says the House passed the Act
   • Weak: card A says the Senate rejected the Act
10. 9.

    To learn how Choctaw people themselves felt about leaving, which source is best, Ren asks?

    • A textbook that retells the story in a few lines for young students
    • A map of the Southeast from 1830, showing where each nation lived
    • Writings by Choctaw people, like Harkins's letter, from the time
    • Jackson's message to Congress, which describes removal as a benefit to them
11. 10.

    Card D runs from 1791 to 1829. What pattern does it show, Tala asks?

    • By 1829 Georgia's law had already forced the Cherokee Nation from its land entirely
    • Both the United States and Georgia gave the Cherokee Nation full protection of its land
    • The United States recognized the Cherokee Nation while Georgia pressed against it
    • The Cherokee Nation gave up its land step by step until nothing was left in 1819