As settlers moved beyond the eastern seaboard during the early
nineteenth century, the government forced thousands of American
Indians from their ancestral lands. The Cherokees, the largest and
most important tribe in the Southeast, fought exile with a
combination of passive resistance and national publicity for their
plight. Because they had successfully resisted the government's
efforts to move them from their homeland, their removal was
particularly brutal when it finally came. "The Trail of Tears
across Missouri" is a moving account of the 1837-1838 removal of
the Cherokees from the southeastern United States to Indian
Territory (now Oklahoma).
After providing an overview of the Cherokees' life in the
Southeast and of the events leading up to their exile, Joan Gilbert
traces the mass exodus state by state from Tennessee to Arkansas.
Successive chapters highlight the experiences and the hardships
endured by those forced to travel with inadequate supplies of food,
clothing, and transportation. It is estimated that four thousand
Cherokees, nearly a quarter of the tribe, died.
In bringing the grim realities of the forced march to life,
Gilbert draws from such primary sources as letters, newspaper
stories, and the writings of missionaries, guides, and doctors who
accompanied them. She focuses on the Cherokees' experiences as they
passed through Missouri, using the journals of Dr. W. I. I. Morrow
and guide B. B. Cannon.
In addition to chronicling the removal of the Cherokees, Gilbert
also brings the story up to date by describing how the nation lives
today and how the Trail of Tears has been commemorated.
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