The year 1838 was the beginning of a terrible tragedy in American history which in turn resulted in the deaths of 4,000 of the 15,000 Cherokee as they were making the 1,200-mile journey. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay on what is infamously known as The Trail of Tears (Ehle). Initially, the Cherokees, a Native American group, included parts of Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and the southern Appalachians (Ehle). Much of the original Cherokee territory was taken and sold by the U.S. government. In fact, when Andrew Jackson became president in 1828, he made a large profit selling Cherokee territory to the people (Purdue). This could have encouraged him to pass laws to move the Cherokee to Missouri as well as the discovery of gold deposits in northwest Georgia (Gilbert). With the perseverance of the Georgians and President Andrew Jackson, the Cherokees were officially expelled from their territory beginning in 1838 under the Treaty of Echota adopted in 1835 (Treaty of New Echota). Most Cherokee refused to leave their homeland, but resistance was in vain because the U.S. government refused to take no for an answer. As a result of this long and perilous journey, a gathering of Cherokees faced death, hunger, disease, and exhaustion. The Trail of Tears was a horrific incident that forced the Cherokees from their own territory that they had held for generations and resulted in the torture and death of thousands of their tribesmen. As previously mentioned, the government made a lot of money from the sale of the Cherokee. territory, because their lands were very rich agriculturally and many people found gold deposits in northwest Georgia. With these two financially beneficial benefits attributed to Cherokee territory, many people wanted the Cherokee to disappear so they could enjoy the riches of Cherokee territory. However, not everyone was in favor of removing the Cherokee and attempted to oppose it. For example, Governor Sam Houston made a special trip to the White House to try to plead with President Andrew Jackson to stop him from implementing impeachment (Gilbert). Tennessee Congressman David Crockett also spoke out against the forced removal of Indians from their eastern homeland (Gilbert). Along with Houston and Crockett, Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster fought aggressively against the Indian removal bill and advised the Cherokees to appeal to the Supreme Court (Gilbert). Even through the efforts of all these political leaders, Jackson began by passing laws to eventually drive the Cherokee from the East. The Cherokee rebuffed the demand to vacate their lands initially ushered in by the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and with the help of John Ross, elected chief executive of the Cherokees in 1828; the Cherokee did their best to hold on to their land (Gilbert). The first major step in retaining their territory was for the Cherokee to go to the Supreme Court in hopes of gaining legal rights to fight eviction. In their first case, Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831), Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the Cherokees constituted a dependent inland nation that existed under the U.S. government, but the court also held that it lacked jurisdiction to strike down Georgia laws (1831). Garrison). The second affair which allowedfor the Cherokee to retain their land was Worcester c. Georgia. In the case of Worcester v. Georgia, Chief Justice John Marshall had asserted the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation, redirecting the conflict to one between Georgia and the United States, which was a huge relief (Purdue). The Supreme Court also declared that the Cherokee Nation remained a distinct, sovereign nation with lawful title to its national territory (garrison). Although these cases administered decisions that would allow the Cherokee to maintain control of their territory, nothing was enforced by the courts, which did not ensure Cherokee possession of their territory. Struggles to go to the Supreme Court to secure their land have not produced results. that the Cherokee hoped would allow them to retain their land. President Andrew Jackson completely ignored the Court's rulings and quickly passed the Treaty of New Echota on December 29, 1835 (Ehle). This treaty was signed by Commissioners General William Carroll and John F. Schermerhorn on behalf of the United States and Major Ridge, who negotiated the treaty with the United States, claiming that he represented the Cherokee Nation although it represented only a tiny fraction. (Treaty of New Echota). The Cherokee Nation rejected this treaty once they learned of what was to be enacted. Because Major Ridge acted against Cherokee interests, they murdered him, his son John, and his cousin Elias Boudinot in 1839 (Treaty of New Echota). Unfortunately, since the Treaty of Echota was signed and passed, the U.S. government could legally remove the Cherokee from their land. Since the Cherokees were not going to leave their lands, force was the only way to remove them and they only had two years from the signing of the treaty to withdraw from their lands and head West. Only two thousand Cherokee left their country before the two-year deadline arrived (Ehle). Accordingly, in May 1838, General Winfield Scott took command of seven thousand soldiers, militia, and volunteers to eliminate the Cherokee and establish his headquarters at New Echota (Purdue). They showed no discretion or mercy and the Cherokees were arrested and dragged from their homes and marched at bayonet point to the stockades (The Cherokee and the Trail of Tears). During the roundup, large numbers of children were separated from their families and any who resisted were murdered in cold blood and several female captives were forced to drink with the soldiers and raped (Gilbert). Once it was time for the Cherokee to make their way to Missouri, the majority of Cherokee on the Trail of Tears began this horrible journey at Rattlesnake Spring, near what is today Charleston, Tennessee (Gilbert ). All the demonstrators were divided into groups of about a thousand people and each group had a driver, or leader, with guides, charioteers, marshals, farriers to shoe the horses, blacksmiths and two doctors (Gilbert ). It is estimated that there were 645 wagons, 5,000 horses and a large number of oxen (Gilbert). This may seem like an appropriate amount to accompany the Cherokee and the soldiers on their long journey, but unfortunately this is not the case. There were not enough wagons, teams, horses, blankets, and there were only eighty-three tents for the thousands of travelers. Warm clothing was also needed for the winter months, food was scarce, and the water provided was often contaminated. The majority of Cherokee had to march to Missouri; the sick, the disabled, the elderly and young children were allowed to travel in wagons.