USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In 1828, European-Americans discovered gold in the Appalacian Mountains of Georgia. This land was part of the Cherokee Nation. Members of the Nation first discovered this gold in the early 1700s and it remained virtually untouched for 100 years.

Detailed explanation-2: -In the late 1820s, gold was discovered on Cherokee land. Click on the image below to see a map of where it was found. People from the neighboring state of Georgia wanted that gold. Georgia passed laws that took away Cherokee rights and started giving away Cherokee land to Georgians.

Detailed explanation-3: -In 1828 Andrew Jackson became president of the United States. In 1830–the same year the Indian Removal Act was passed–gold was found on Cherokee lands.

Detailed explanation-4: -During the fall and winter of 1838 and 1839, the Cherokees were forcibly moved west by the United States government. Approximately 4, 000 Cherokees died on this forced march, which became known as the “Trail of Tears.” A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875.

Detailed explanation-5: -Gold caused the death and suffrage of thousands of Native Americans. The Cherokee giving gold to the white man was the Cherokee handing their life to their killer. Andrew Jackson a man that had been saved by 500 Cherokee’s and their allies at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814 authorized the Indian Removal Act.