The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears (Penguin Library of American Indian History) [Mass Market Paperback]

Theda Perdue (Author), Michael Green (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0143113674 | ISBN-13: 978-0143113676 | Publication Date: June 24, 2008 | Edition: Reprint

In the early nineteenth century, the U.S. government shifted its policy from trying to assimilate American Indians to relocating them, and proceeded to forcibly drive seventeen thousand Cherokees from their homelands. This journey of exile became known as the Trail of Tears.

Historians Perdue and Green reveal the government?s betrayals and the divisions within the Cherokee Nation, follow the exiles along the Trail of Tears, and chronicle the hardships found in the West. In its trauma and tragedy, the Cherokee diaspora has come to represent the irreparable injustice done to Native Americans in the name of nation building?and in their determined survival, it represents the resilience of the Native American spirit.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This compact book by eminent historians Perdue and Green moves from the time when all Cherokees lived in the southern Appalachians to their forced expulsion to the Indian Territory, as American policy morphed from civilizing Native Americans to what might today be deemed ethnic cleansing. The Indian Removal Act (1830) fixed in law a revolutionary program of political and social engineering that caused unimaginable suffering, deaths in the thousands, and emotional pain that lingers to this day. It's a tangled tale of partisan politics and Cherokee power struggles, of juridical argument and economic motive, of bitter personal disputes and changing public policy. Perdue (Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Southeast) and Green (The Cherokee Removal) have written a lucid, readable account of the legal complexities of the 18th-century right of conquest doctrine and the 19th-century emerging doctrine of state rights; the treaties, alliances, obligations and assurances involved; and the landmark cases Cherokee v. Georgia and Worcester v. Georgia (one effectively denying Cherokee self-government, one ineffectively affirming Cherokee sovereignty). Over it all hangs the disquieting knowledge that in the history of interaction between Euro-Americans and Indians, Cherokee removal [exemplifies] a larger history that no one should forget. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Perdue and Green illuminate the Cherokee experience, beginning with their first contact with Europeans, around 1540, when the De Soto expedition visited their southern Appalachian territory. Their numbers were decimated by waves of epidemics beginning in 1697, and they ceded half their land to the British in the mid–eighteenth century. The U.S. government first attempted to "civilize" the Cherokees, but after the War of 1812, the policy of removal took precedence, as the Cherokees and their allies lost the battle of tribal nationalism versus states' rights. After 1836 the Trail of Tears, as the deportation of thousands from their homeland is now called, began in earnest. Donovan, Deborah
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Reprint edition (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143113674
• ISBN-13: 978-0143113676
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #282,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One volume in an important new series on American Indian history from Penguin., July 31, 2007

By 

Paul Tognetti "The real world is so much more... (Cranston, RI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears: The Penguin Library of American Indian History series (Penguin's Library of American Indian History) (Hardcover)

Since I was a little boy my dad has talked about the "Trail of Tears". My father has always been sympathetic to the plight of Native Americans and has been generous to their causes over the years. And so when I happened upon "The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears" at my local bookstore I felt compelled to read more about it. Co-authors Theda Perdue and Michael Green are both history professors at the University of North Carolina. They have put together a marvelous little book that provides the background and context for fully understanding the events that took place in the Cherokee Nation during the 1830's. I found that what my dad had tried to impress on me was true. This was indeed one of the most shameful episodes in American history.

Removal of Native Americans was certainly nothing new in the 1830's. It had happened any number of times before commencing with the removal of the Acadian people from Northern New England and Nova Scotia to Louisiana in the 1750's. But the Cherokees, under principal chief John Ross, had for many years tried to work with and accomodate the American government whenver possible. Time and again the Cherokees were the victims of broken promises from both the federal government and the state governments in Georgia and Tennessee. Seems like the treaties our government signed with the Cherokee nation were not worth the paper they were written on. The State of Georgia and its leaders were particularly harsh in their dealings with the Cherokees. The greed and ruthlessness exhibited by the leaders of Georgia would rear its ugly head again later on over the issue of slavery. Meanwhile, an increasing number of Cherokee leaders became convinced that the best option for survival would be to relocate the tribe to the Western lands the U.S. government had set aside in the state of Oklahoma. And so it was that a group of renegade Cherokee leaders led by John Ridge and Elias Boudinot entered into an agreement with the U.S. Government that would come to be known as the Treaty of New Echota. The treaty was signed on December 29, 1835 and would essentially provide for the relocation of the tribe to Oklahoma. According to the terms of the Treaty the U.S. government would provide substantial resources to accomodate the relocation of the tribe. Chief Ross remained opposed to the idea and argued that Ridge and Boudinot were not authorized to enter into such a treaty. But it was too late. Events were now out of control and time was running out for the Cherokee nation in most of the East.

Over the next several years the removal of the tribe would occur in waves. As one might expect our illustrious federal government failed to live up to its part of the bargain in a great many instances. Thousands of Cherokee people died while attempting to make the 850 mile trek to Oklahoma. It was a journey that would take anywhere from 3 to 6 months to complete and many individuals would perish along the way due to starvation, disease, exposure and exhaustion. "The Cherokee Nation and Trail of Tears" presents the entire sordid affair for your consideration. Frankly, it is still awfully hard to digest even after all these years. I certainly look forward to other volumes in this brand new series from Penguin. This was definitely time well spent! Recommended!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A book that reads like an encyclopedia entry, December 18, 2009

By 

Harry M. Shin (Livermore, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears: The Penguin Library of American Indian History series (Hardcover)

1. I know that I'm the lone voice here and I admit upfront that I'm not an expert on this topic nor a hardcore historian... which is precisely why I was looking forward to this book (ie to learn something about an important historical event that I've heard about since my youth).

2. Without a doubt the content / data within the book is well assembled, however this is suppposed to be a book review. Many can put together various facts, all of which may be interesting and "true", but that does not make a good book. Unfortunately, this "book" is written in a style that is more suited for a college textbook or an encyclopedia, both of which have their places in learning.

3. Thus, for those who don't mind reading dry historical data, akin to those found in a textbook or encyclopedia, this is the book for you. On the otherhand, if you want to read a well written historical book (akin to those written by Ambrose, Ellis etc...), then find another book on the Cherokee Nation.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An extremely small book, both in size and length, but it provides an excellent grounding in the Cherokee experience!, July 30, 2007

By 

Ryan Fisher (Santa Maria, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears: The Penguin Library of American Indian History series (Penguin's Library of American Indian History) (Hardcover)

For its brevity and diminutive size, this book contains a wealth of information. Theda Perdue and Michael Green have compiled an interesting and compelling narrative on the events that lead to and followed the Trail of Tears tragedy.
I have long known of my Cherokee ancestry and the perils my 3X-Great-Grandfather endured as he was forced from Georgia with his two small children.
This is not one of those books that portends to criticize all whites or the entire U.S. government for the injustices Cherokees undoubtedly endured. Instead, Perdue and Green square much of the blame for forced relocation on Georgia's state officials who held nothing but contempt for treaties signed by the federal government with recognized tribal leaders. "The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears," considers the fact that frequently good natured attempts to cooperate with the Cherokee Nation failed as much as opportunistic whites and political whims of the day sabotaged further efforts for an amicable and just relationship.
REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ, READERS, AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS DESERVE YOUR OPINIONS TOO!