The Trail of Tears: The Story of the American Indian Removals 1813-1855

by Gloria Jahoda

In this poignant and powerful book, Gloria Jahoda makes use of hitherto unpublished sources to relate in unprecedented depth and detail the history of Indian courage in the face of white expansion during the first half of the nineteenth century. She describes the violence, the wars, the meaningless treaties and political double-dealing that spread from Washington to the frontier. She portrays the suffering as thousands of Creeks, Choctaws, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Seminoles, Shawnees, Delawares, Senecas and members of other proud Native American nations perished from cold, hunger and white men's diseases. Here too are the monumental figures of the age, men of greed, hatred, honor and inspiration, including: Andrew Jackson, who created the policy and presided over its ruthless execution Sir St. George Gore, an Irish millionaire who, in slaughtering over 2,000 buffalo, helped speed the demise of the Native Americans newly arrived in the Great American Desert Sam Houston and Davy Crockett, former Indian fighters turned Indian advocates John Ross, the Cherokee statesman who represented his tribe before the United States government and later bitterly led his people out of Georgia Osceola, the brilliant military tactician and Seminole chief who gallantly waged war against Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor.

History comes alive in the vivid prose and fluid anecdotal style of The Trail of Tears. It is a book that must be read by anyone interested in the evolution and development of America's history--and its destiny.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Native American, Historical, American History, Indigenous, Native American History

356 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have long been aware that the United States was founded on slavery and genocide.

However, this book in focusing on a brief 42 year period, greatly expanded my understanding of US treatment of Native people. The Trail of Tears was not "merely" the story of the removal of the Cherokee people, it was the story of dozens and dozens of tribes and nations.

It was the story of white supremacy, greed and incredible theft and dishonesty.

Besides revealing the evil of successive US presidents and their underlings, author Jahoda also clearly writes about the nobility and disillusioned reality of many Native American leaders.

A classic and necessary read.

[Michael C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.4. The “Indian Removal”, only a brief footnote in American History textbooks. Such a disturbing narrative relating such dreadful behavior by our ancestors.

[Danielle Apple · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hard read for me. Not just because of the vast amount of information to be processed that jumped around a little much, or because of the horrible things people did to each other, but also because of what I found. I was researching for a book and to get clues about where my supposed ancestors came from. I didn't find anything particularly obvious but I did find a different ancestor, completely out if the blue. He was in charge of one if the removals. I had very mixed feelings about it, seeing as I could have ancestors directly involved on either side and they all had reasons for what they did or didn't do. What is more, his group ended up where I think I have located the other ancestors in Kansas. The world is truely a small place.

I wanted to be upset, but if I lived back then, would I have been? Would we turn on our neighbors or protect them? Humans have been given this choice for centuries and it's sad to see that we usually choose the side that is easiest for us. I was ashamed, but not at the same time. General Tipton had terrible experiences with other Natives that shamefully drove his outlook on all of them.

At any rate, I learned so, so many things about Native American culture, lives, and their relationships with their new neighbors and each other. I'm glad I read it!

[readmuchrunfar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely written historical account--I found it hard to put down but hard to pick up at the same time because of the sadness of the story. Something I think I never quite grasped before is that in many cases the Indians were quite integrated into white life--they lived in houses, kept livestock, and tended fields...even owned slaves. They'd often converted to Christianity. Some fought back of course (Black Hawk is one I'm familiar with, having gone to college in the same area), but often they just wanted to live and let live. Instead they were cajoled, tricked, and forced to move, leaving only their names behind. It's a shameful story from an American white person's perspective, but one that must be told.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I have noted in the past, I have a tough time with non-fiction. Although the subject matter made this one difficult to handle (turns out most of our early Presidents were somewhere on the spectrum between malicious racist and genocidal a**hole), Jahoda's rich storytelling makes the facts come alive. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone with an interest in the history of the U.S.' relationship with Native American tribes. I guess I knew it was horrific before I picked up this book, but knowing the details makes it so much worse. So, it's hard to say that I "really liked it," but I do think it's a valuable book to have read.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I was well versed in the story of this American tragedy this book added some thought provoking context and dimension.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is prose written like poetry. What a great story-teller. A broad-brush approach to the story of the American Indian removals from North to South and East to West.

[Nicholas E. Roberson · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Overall Score: ••3.8-4.2••]

This was a heavy read. In the sense of the subject matter and its overall presentation. However, Ms. Gloria Jahoda explains the "Indian Removal Act" in startling clarity. We follow the very first tribe all the way to the last tribe who recieved a forced exodus into the Badland-prairies of America. Countless voices are heard within these pages. From the Great Father's to the Great Chiefs. From fur traders to foreign dignitaries. As well religious preachers entered the fray of this hollow moment of American history.

Its grotesque how little the 'Trail Of Tears' gets talked about in modern K-12 schools (Grammer School, middle and Highschool). Most of the time, it gets muddled and lulled into the 'Western Expansion' courses. Oftenly it is overshadowed by the California Gold Rush, which occurred during the later portion of the 'Trail Of Tears'. One thing this reader learned from this novel is just how many Native tribes were stripped and forced from the lands they called their home. The list of 'pushed-out' tribes is far more lengthy than previously thought or suspected.

Another awesome aspect of this novel was how Gloria presented both "Pro-Removal" and "Anti-Removal" thoughts or voices. However, for future readers, you should know this novel is written in a very interesting way. Many times the need to present the elemental conditions in the 1830's hindered the stories overall flow. Each chapter is about different a tribe, which is a double-edged sword. One edge makes the novel droll on and the other edge, shows the systematic laws used to garnish sacred land in the name of the government. Ms. Jahoda's prose as well comes into the mix. Sometime it jars with the story at hand and other times takes you, the reader back in time perfectly. It took until chapter 2 (or 3) before this reader, figured out how to read this novel, to find the literary beauty and understand what literary techniques were being used in this novel. After you find the feeling of the story being told, the literary tools being used, the novel becomes quite enjoyable. It just may take a few paragraph re-reads before it all starts clicking and making sense.

Deeply said, this novel should be read by every White American. Because in the year 2025 many seem to not care how Native Americans came to the 'Reservations'. If you are apathetic to Native plights and rights than this novel will be of little interest to you. If there was "white-washing" ever done towards the Indian Population of America it was in regards to the "Indian Removal Act". The Trail of Tears should be far more known. It matters more than all the state capitols, it matter more than children remembering all the president's names. This should be a mandatory read while studying 'Manifest Destiny'.

[Laura Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really really interesting. It covers so much more than the Cherokee removal but instead more broadly lays out the history of repeated removals, betrayals of previous commitments and ultimately simply brute force was used to clear out one place or another of the people who had been there so white people could make their claims.
States rights was used as an argument to preempt federal action to protect Native American rights to land.
The stories are repetitive because the actions of the US Government were repetitive: repeatedly marching people hundreds and thousands of miles from their homes in misery and death. Just because they were not white people.
I was struck by the story of Father Petit and the Potawatomi. He had come from France to minister to the Potawatomi in Northern Indiana. But before too long they were removed and Father Petit went along with them. She describes after the last mass “they stripped the chapel” and “sobbed as a white squatter came in to claim the chapel for his house.”
I was also struck by the involvement of my home, Tampa, Florida in the Seminole Wars and in the wrongful imprisonment, killing and removal of Seminoles. This is not an isolated story. This is not a regional story. This is a national story. It wasn’t an accident, but a deliberate, repeated strategy that took place over hundreds of years including during the time frame covered here 1813-1855

[Karen Koppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazingly good book that was sensitively written, as factual as possible considering the scarcity of accurate information regarding the Indian removals. The author's description of the powerful chiefs and their dedication to their tribes was moving. She covered the good and the bad people that participated in the tragic removal of the proud Indian tribes. It's so horrible that our country cheated these innocent peoples by lying, stealing, encouraging alcohol, and literally starving the murdering them. Some of the book is difficult to read due to its honest portrayal of the disgusting practices that took place but it's so important for us to realize that the natives have suffered for many years due to the greed of the early white Americans. We have a lot of work to do to make up for what we've done to this race of people, and for many things there is no way we can make it up.

[Gary Detrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful book. Superbly detailed and covers all the different Indian Tribes from the northern to southern United States. Should be required reading in our schools. As a baby boomer, many of us grew up playing cowboys and Indians, unaware of the tragic and true events our nation pursued in growing our country. It's hard to put into words the disgust I felt as I read this and other publications, "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee", being just one of those.
Fortunately, there were those, of few, who did rise up to fight against these unjust causes. Their hearts also sad and disgusted with the plight they were seeing be pursued against the tribal nations during this era of removal.
What is sad is this greed and mentality still exist today in our country among our leaders and citizens alike. I must stop here, because it only further nauseates me to write and still see this type of mind set among some today.

[Rod Innis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to have a lot of information about the horrible treatment of the Indians during the years indicated in the title but it was quite weakly organized and there was no coherent history of the period. In my opinion, there was too much graphic description of the horrors committed by whites against the Indians. Don't get me wrong; it truly was horrible what was done by Europeans against the native people of North and South America. This is a terrible indictment against those who committed the atrocities and the governments that allowed and perhaps even encouraged it. I live in Oklahoma, the end of the trail of tears. Nothing done today can undo what was done in the past. In North America, many of the native tribes have totally disappeared and the others have been so decimated so as be unable to really recover. It is a really sad part of the history of the Americas.

[Emily Dehmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an excellent book about a horrific and shameful time in U.S. history. Any American who ignorantly believes that Natives should have “gotten over it already” needs to read this book. If your people were cheated for generations, murdered, raped, starved, tortured, and literally hunted for sport, and no one in positions of power cared because they were enforcing it, I’m sure you’d have difficulty “getting over it” too. This book is a painful but necessary read, and I’m grateful to now be better informed about the massive number of innocent men, women, and children (and babies) this nation exploited and exterminated in order to get where it is today.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really interested in learning more about this horrible time in history, but I ended up being disappointed, and had to push my way through this. In my opinion it wasn’t written well, it was confusing because it mentioned so many different, Indian tribes, chiefs names, etc. to me it ended up being confusing and I couldn’t remember who was who and they all blended together. The constant indentations for quotes was annoying and distracted from the regular print. I’m hoping to find another book they can address the subject in the more engaging way. One thing this book did do though is 100% changed my idea of American history as it related to the natives. Completely shameful and disgusting.

[Peter Talbot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should be required secondary school reading, and should be read before Dee Brown's "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" as the first book in the story of the American White Man's ethnic cleansing and property grab. It must be read to appreciate the Jackson and Van Buren era and to set the stage for the later predations against the Plains Indians on behalf of the iron horse as well as the states-rights pablum that justified the Civil War. Brilliantly written and soulful, and dependent on sources not normally consulted by the historians among the long knives.

[Lynne Belokopitsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t often quit a book, but I’m quitting this one. I found myself dreading reading it. Each chapter described a different tribe lied to by white people and dying as they headed West. It is disheartening and difficult to face that our nation was built on these lies. I’m glad to have a deeper understanding of the history of the Native Americans. Perhaps someday I’ll be able to finish this book.

[Gary Hirsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very educational book. Several people in our bookclub, including myself, thought that the trail of tears was a one time event similar to the Bataan death march, instead of something that occurred over several decades and involved many tribes.
The downside is that, in part, it is a difficult read due to all the different tribes and their leaders. Several people were not able to finish the book.

[Michael Compton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, thoroughly documented account of our nation's darkest chapter. Packed with anecdotes that encompass the full range of human behavior, the book is both intimate and sweeping in its narrative. Though never maudlin or gratuitous in her description, the catalogue of outrages and horrors the author presents becomes mind-numbing at times, but this reader felt compelled to follow to the inevitable finish. Essential reading for anyone who wants to know our true history.

[Jack Ippel · Rating 5 out of 5]

So informative and well-written! Summary: How the US government screwed the American Indians at every point in our country's history.

[Doris Raines · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent writing. A true and very sad story that all white people living in the USA should read. The book was on my late uncle's book shelf and my cousin invited me to take any books I would like. This was in northern Alabama, not far from the historical trail itself. We were there this past September and viewed the commemorative motorcycle ride down Highway 72 in Athens. There are no words to adequately describe the horrors of how we Europeans decimated multiple peoples and cultures, but Gloria Jahoda does a good job.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really important book for understanding American history. It’s dark, the writing is on the academic side, and it’s filled with heavy details on how truly awful Americans (and Europeans) were to the Native Americans. I had to take breaks after each chapter to emotionally process everything. But it was educational and helped me gain a new perspective on familiar places across the US which I appreciate.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a beautiful piece of work. Although difficult at times to keep my attention set on every page, I felt like I was reading an encyclopedia more than once. It was a challege to put all 300+ pages away in a couple of weeks, but it was well worth the time. All in all it was a fascinating and detailed book that lets you voyage into what the trail of tears and the Indian removal act was about, the government involvement, the key players in the game, and how it built the ground for American history. However, if you're not sucked in by the time you've read the first chapter, you should just put down the book.

[Pollyanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learnt about the Trail of Tears at university and became fascinated. I have always admired native americans and wanted to read more about this sad part of their history. I have to say it was a tough read, very wordy and at times I got lost with how the book went from one place to another.
It was very sad at times and shocking, the brutality of the Americans was disgusting and disgraceful.
I would recommend anyone interested in American History at least reads one book about the Trail of Tears.

[Michael Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in how the American Indian lost their lands and were pushed out of the Eastern US, this book will provide an intimate, detailed, anecdotal history of the tribes affected by the Removal Act of the 1830's. I was only familiar with the Cherokee and Seminole stories, but the tragedy was much broader in scale. Many tribes, much greed and racist disregard for the natives. It's a sad book, with a sameness to the stories of the forced travels out of the East and deaths, that become overwhelming with the retellings. It's a disturbing tale, yet another disturbing tale.

[Jon Lawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trail of tears is surely an enlightening work though Jahoda has an annoying stylistic rhythm/cadence which makes it a burdensome read (a defect which I have not recognized in any other work).

If you choose only one book about the genocide and extermination of American Indians, I would recommend "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West" by Dee Brown, which is a masterpiece.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The inability of the European to recognize the wonder of other people and to learn from them and coexist appalls me! how horribly sad. I think that the British in Canada handled things better but they didn't- it was just different and both our nations are still dealing with some of the ramifications.

[Charlene Mathe]

Why did our new nation fail so dismally this first(?) test of our founding principles? I think the catastrophe of this era was eclipsed by the Civil War. Would we have behaved differently? What distinguished those who stood up in opposition, and how could they have been more effective? These are the questions I have that motivate my purchase of this book.

[Tania]

I attempted this after failing at 'Bury my heart at wounded knee', hoping I would find it more engaging, but I am ashamed to say that yet again I am sadly defeated. However, it has left me bereft of understanding at how Andrew Jackson made it onto the $20 bill; one of the great Native American chiefs would be an appropriate replacement.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, although I admit not usually the kind I like (it was pretty well a history book). I didn't read all of it, but what I did get brought back history lessons I had gotten in school. Such a tragic event. Its another eye opener.