I finally finished the first draft of a new set of lesson plans commissioned by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York City. The lessons are based on primary documents concerning the Trail of Tears of the 1830s. Wading through materials and trimming things to make them accessible by elementary students (4th through 6th grades) was quite a challenge. In fact, what I submitted is probably much more than what it needed to be, and I'm pretty sure it's all going to come back to me with a charge to simplify it even further.
I've long been interested in this part of American history. It is one of the black eyes on our nation's development. However, growing to maturity never comes without mistakes and failures. President Andrew Jackson is a complex character, and I discovered in reading his address to Congress concerning the "necessity" of removing the Cherokee that he may have had conflicting feelings about them. I looked at the document with three different takes. I was left with the idea that he thought sending these 16,000 people to a reservation in Indian Territory was the only compassionate solution that he could come up with - that in order to save lives, both of settlers and of Indians, the two had to be separated. At the same time, he had to play the politician and convince Congress that the expenditures involved were justified and that it would make room for the white, Christian settlers moving in. Finally, he was the tough guy on the Cherokee, making strong, imperatives that things would not go well for them if they continued to resist.
In other documents from the era, we see the Cherokee response. We also see accounts of eye witnesses and more. All in all, about a quarter of the Cherokee perished in the move from the Kentucky area, both on land and by river.
When I was young, we visited the Cherokee living history village in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, at Cherokee headquarters. At the time, there was an outdoor amphitheater adjacent (since abandoned) where actors portrayed all of the principal players. I was too young to really understand what was happening at the time, but I remember being mesmerized by the rotating sets and the multi-level staging areas. Somehow, even though I didn't understand the content, I have some pretty vivid memories of the experience. The play was called Tsa-la-gi, and believe it or not, I can even remember at least one billboard advertising it with those Cherokee words.
I was also fascinated by the fact that, in Tahlequah, the street signs are lettered with the English street names, but also include the names using the Cherokee syllabary of Sequoyah.
In other documents from the era, we see the Cherokee response. We also see accounts of eye witnesses and more. All in all, about a quarter of the Cherokee perished in the move from the Kentucky area, both on land and by river.
When I was young, we visited the Cherokee living history village in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, at Cherokee headquarters. At the time, there was an outdoor amphitheater adjacent (since abandoned) where actors portrayed all of the principal players. I was too young to really understand what was happening at the time, but I remember being mesmerized by the rotating sets and the multi-level staging areas. Somehow, even though I didn't understand the content, I have some pretty vivid memories of the experience. The play was called Tsa-la-gi, and believe it or not, I can even remember at least one billboard advertising it with those Cherokee words.
I was also fascinated by the fact that, in Tahlequah, the street signs are lettered with the English street names, but also include the names using the Cherokee syllabary of Sequoyah.
