Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Cherokee removal: The Trail of Tears (video)

Learn Liberty, April 2, 2012; Xochitl, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly


The Trail of Tears: They Knew It Was Wrong
(LearnLiberty) The Trail of Tears should not have happened. The new "Americans" at the time knew that it was wrong, that it was illegal according to U.S. law, and that it was unconstitutional, but they did it anyway. Historian Amy Sturgis explains why the forced removal from Georgia of the Cherokee Nation to "Indian Territory" (modern-day Oklahoma) was wrong on both moral and legal grounds. How can the Trail of Tears provide lessons to us today? We can't look away and ignore the atrocity as an example of something that was just part of the mid-19th century mindset. It is a story about how a majority group gained power at the expense of a minority unable to defend itself. The Trail of Tears set precedents we can only hope to avoid repeating.


No comments: