SOURCE ONE:
The Indian Removal Act
In 1835 Andrew Jackson, the popular president of the United States, made Indian removal one of
the key points of his annual address to Congress. The following is part of his speech to Congress on
December 7, 1835.
"All preceding experiments for the improvement of the Indians have failed. It seems now to be an
established fact they can not live in contact with a civilized community and prosper.
…An extensive region in the West has been assigned for their permanent residence. It has been divided
into districts and allotted among them. . . .
"A country west of Missouri and Arkansas has been assigned to them, into which the white settlements
are not to be pushed. A barrier has thus been raised for their protection against the encroachment of our
citizens, and guarding the Indians as far as possible from those evils which have brought them to their
present condition."
Answer the following APPARTS questions in RAD in your journal.
AUTHOR:
1) Who created this source?
2) How does the author feel about the Indian Removal Act? Explain.
PLACE and TIME:
1) Is the source a primary or secondary source? How do you know?
AUDIENCE:
2) Who was this written for and why?
SOURCE Two:
The Indian Removal Act
In 1830 John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee, went to the Supreme Court to fight Indian
removal. In the early 1830s, he warned members of the Iroquois League of the dangers of the U.S.
policies. Below is an excerpt of his address to the Iroquois Nation.
"Brothers: The tradition of our Fathers . . . tells us that this great and extensive Continent was once
the sole and exclusive abode of our race. . . . Ever since [the whites came] we have been made to
drink of the bitter cup of humiliation; treated like dogs . . . our country and the graves of our
Fathers torn from us . . . through a period of upwards of 200 years, rolled back, nation upon nation
[until] we find ourselves fugitives, vagrants and strangers in our own country. . . .
Answer the following APPARTS questions in RAD in your journal.
AUTHOR:
1) Who created this source?
2) Did this author agree or disagree with the Indian Removal Act? Explain.
PLACE and TIME:
3) When and where did this event take place?
4) Is the source a primary or secondary source? How do you know?
AUDIENCE:
1) Who was this written for and why?
SOURCE THREE:
The Trail of Tears
James Mooney (1861–1921) was an American researcher who lived for several years among the
Cherokee. He conducted many interviews with them. Below he describes the Trail of Tears based
on interviews with survivors.
“Families at dinner were startled by the sudden gleam of bayonets in the doorway and rose up to be
driven with blows and oaths along the weary miles of trail that led to the stockades Men were seized
in their fields or going along the road, women were taken from their spinning wheels and chilfen from
their play. In many cases, on turning for one last look as they crossed a ridge, they saw their homes in
flames, fired by the lawless rabble that followed on the heels of the soldiers to loot and pillage, So
keen were these outlaws on the scent that in some instances they were driving off the cattle and other
stock of the Indians almost before the soldiers had fairly started their owners in the other direction.”
Answer the following APPARTS questions in RAD in your journal.
AUTHOR:
1) Who created this source?
2) Is the author an expert on the event? Why or why not?
PLACE and TIME:
3) Is the source a primary or secondary source? How do you know?
AUDIENCE:
4) Why do you think the author wrote this?
5) Do you think the author was truthful as he wrote it?