The Franklin Mint History Of The United States, 1776-1973
Manufacturer
The Franklin Mint
CultureAmerican
DateNo Date
MediumSilver
DimensionsOverall: 1 3/4 in. (45 mm.)
Credit LineGift of Dr. Eugene F. Poutasse
Object number76.81.63
Not on view
DescriptionOne of collection of 200 silver medals.The 1838 medal: Forcible Removal of Indians To the West
The white man was relentless in his drive westward. The Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole Indians, often called the Five Civilized Tribes, tried to adapt to white civilization, but when the white man wanted their lands, they were treated as badly as the rest.
Consider the Cherokees who, by the time President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act of May 28, 1830, had built permanent homes, were farmers, conducted schools, and had achieved a written language which enabled them to publish a newspaper. In December 1835 they became the last of the great southeastern nations to cede all of their eastern lands. In the spring of 1838, some 13,000 of them were escorted by U.S. troops to a new Indian Territory west of the Mississippi. Over 4,000 perished from the hardships of the forced march which became known as the "trail of tears."
The removal treaty stated that "no part of the land granted them shall ever be embraced in any Territory or State" but in 1907 the Indian Territory, which by then had become greatly reduced in size by further encroachments, disappeared entirely as a part of the State of Oklahoma.
