Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation [Paperback]

John Ehle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 1997

The fascinating portrayal of the Cherokee nation,  filled with Native American legend, lore, and religion -- a  gripping American drama of power, politics,  betrayal, and ambition.

B & W photographs

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

One of the many ironies of U.S. government policy toward Indians in the early 1800s is that it persisted in removing to the West those who had most successfully adapted to European values. As whites encroached on Cherokee land, many Native leaders responded by educating their children, learning English, and developing plantations. Such a leader was Ridge, who had fought with Andrew Jackson against the British. As he and other Cherokee leaders grappled with the issue of moving, the land-hungry Georgia legislatiors, with the aid of Jackson, succeeded in ousting the Cherokee from their land, forcing them to make the arduous journey West on the infamous "Trail of Tears." Popular history for public libraries. Mary B. Davis, Museum of American Indian Lib., New York
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

The fascinating portrayal of the Cherokee nation, filled with Native American legend, lore, and religion -- a gripping American drama of power, politics, betrayal, and ambition.

B & W photographs

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Anchor Books Doubleday (September 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385239548
• ISBN-13: 978-0385239547
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > History > Americas > Native American

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ehle Writes the Definitive Work on Cherokee History, January 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation (Paperback)

John Ehle, a native son of North Carolina, has dedicated most of his life toward using his pen to bring to life the rich history of his birthstate. With Trail of Tears, he has succeeded again where so many others, in this day and age of political correctness and historical revisionism, have failed. Ehle's work is factually rich, it is obvious Mr. Ehle spent many hours in archives thoroughly researching the book's subject matter. The book's narrative structure is compelling, focusing on the role of several prominent families within the Cherokee Nation to animate the hierarchical structure of Cherokee society and the stratification of power therein.

Some readers will be shocked to discover how pervasive European culture was within significant elements of the Cherokee nation in North Carolina. The curiosity of most readers will be piqued again and again with the factually accurate exposure to the structure of the Cherokee's -- Christian churches, post office, town hall -- how they made a concerted effort to adapt to the European white world in an effort to integrate, and therefore survive, amidst a sea of change occurring during the 19th century.

Mr. Ehle's work has been criticized for its depiction of wealthy, landed Cherokee's as slave owners. This evidence flies in the face of the more contemporary interpretation of the brotherhood of the oppressed alleged to exist between persecuted American Indians and the African slave population. This notion is patently false. At the time, the Cherokees were neither persecuted nor advocates of slave rights. They were, as Mr. Ehle points out, consistently adapting the institutions of the white European settlers, good or bad, and slavery was one of those institutions the Cherokees adopted.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy here is that Mr. Ehle did not tell the story of other regional Indian nations, such as the Muskhogean tribes of the Chicksaw and Choctaw peoples, both of which suffered exponentially more at the hands of the American government and white European settlers than did the Cherokee. Unfortunately, as with most events in history, much of what we don't want to see is swept under the carpet of painful ingorance.

Despite this shortcoming, and one cannot fault Mr. Ehle for not expanding the scope of his work, I strongly recommend this book and understand why it continues to be found on the syllabi of all serious academic courses on American Indian history.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good book to own, March 16, 2005

By 

Paul Ridenour (Dallas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation (Paperback)

This book is filled with facts but as others have pointed out, it is also filled with errors and sometimes reads like a historical "fiction" novel. I have over a 100 books on this topic but I'd say go ahead and buy this book. If you want the best researched book on the topic, also purchase:

"Cherokee Tragedy: The Ridge Family and the Decimation of a People" by Thurman Wilkins.

Another fantastic book, which is out-of-print, is:

"Stand Watie and the Agony of the Cherokee Nation" by Kenny A. Franks.

The Franks book deals with the Cherokees and the Civil War.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Death of a Nation, October 23, 2000

By 

Randall L. Golden "randy_golden" (Woodstock, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation (Paperback)

Ehle's has a unique, fast paced, style of laying out the facts. This is an intense, no holds barred look at the end of the Cherokee Nation, most of which existed in present-day Northwest Georgia.

I do not recommend this work as an introduction to the Trail of Tears. You should have a good grasp of the people and events leading to North Georgia's Trail of Tears before attempting to read the book since Ehle frequently does not introduce minor characters, and does not spend much time introducing the major characters and events.

The book is well researched but controversial, since there are essentially two sides to the story, that of Major Ridge and that of John Ross. This gives a balanced presentation of both sides, although I suspect that fans of Major Ridge may disagree.