The American Journey © 2012

Chapter 11: The Jackson Era

Web Activity Lesson Plans

"The Struggles of Native Americans"

Introduction
In this chapter students learned that although President Andrew Jackson made the American political system more democratic, he used his presidency to force the removal of Native Americans from land in the Southeast. Thousands of Native Americans died on the journey West on what historians call the Trail of Tears. This web activity is designed to reinforce the explanations of how Native Americans struggled during the Jackson Era.

Lesson Description
Students will learn how Native Americans, specifically the Cherokee, were driven from their land and homes in the southern Appalachians and forced to relocate thousands of miles West. After reading the article on the Trail of Tears, students will use the information to explain the hardships that Native Americans were forced to endure.

Instructional Objectives

1. The student will be able to describe the relocation of Native Americans during the Jackson Era.
2. The student will be able to explain how the removal of Native Americans shaped America and its future.
3. The student will be able to analyze how the government controlled a minority group.

Student Web Activity Answers

1. New Echota, Georgia
2. They loved the land where they were brought up. They said that letting go of their land would be like throwing away their mother that gave birth to them.
3. 13; 4
4. Talequah is now the center of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. It was named for Tellico, a Cherokee town in Tennessee. Talequah was incorporated in 1843, and it is here where the Cherokee Supreme Court Building and the Cherokee National Capitol are located.
5. After the Cherokee were rounded up, they were taken to places like Fort Butler, North Carolina and Fort Payne, Alabama to be held until the march West began. The military posts were considered stockades or internment camps.
6. At the time of their removal in 1838, the Cherokee had a written constitution, a bilingual newspaper, and Christian churches where they sang hymns in the Cherokee language. The Cherokee language has no curse words or obscentities.