How do primary sources show the author’s/creator’s point of view and the context of the time period?
Subject(s): Geography, Native Americans, and US History
Time Period(s): (1801-1861) Expansion and Reform
Grade level(s): 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12
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Supporting question(s):
What techniques do individuals use to try to persuade others?
Who was Andrew Jackson and how did he influence westward expansion of the United States?
Source Set
- Andrew Jackson to John Pitchlynn, August 5, 1830
- Andrew Jackson to Chickasaw Chiefs, August 23, 1830
- Map showing the lands assigned to emigrant Indians west of Arkansas and Missouri, 1836
- Nathaniel Smith to Hon. C.A. Harris, April 24, 1837
- Map of the former territorial limits of the Cherokee Nation of Indians , 1884
- Choctaw Removal Song
- Siah Hicks (Creek) Interview, 1937
- National Atlas. Indian tribes, cultures & languages
Description
Excerpt of a letter from Andrew Jackson to John Pitchlynn about attempting to persuade American Indian groups to move from their homes westward.
Description
The image shows an excerpt of an 1830 letter from Andrew Jackson to the Chickasaw chiefs in which Jackson is encouraging the leaders to move the Chickasaw west.
Description
1836 Map showing the lands assigned to native groups, including the Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, Osage, Quapaw, Shawnee, Pawnee, Otoes, Delaware, Kickapoo, Kansas, Potawatamies, Omaha, Sacs & Foxes west of Arkansas and Missouri. Forts along the major roads are also shown, including Ft. Smith, Arkansas.
Description
This letter, written in 1837 by General Nathaniel Smith, who was in charge of removing the Cherokees describes the Cherokee’s responses to Indian Removal.
Description
This map shows land formerly claimed by the Cherokee, which was either signed over to colonies or the U.S. by treaty, or taken after the Indian Removal Act.
Description
Lyrics from a Choctaw song describing Indian Removal, published in the early 20th century.
Description
Oral history in 1937, recounting memories of older Creeks’ discussions of Indian Removal in the previous century.
Description
National atlas of American Indian cultural and linguistic groups found in the United States
Additional resource(s):
American Indian Removal materials from the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian
UA Little Rock Sequoyah National Research Center Exhibit on the Trail of Tears Through Arkansas
Andrew Jackson’s Letter to Cherokee’s East of the Mississippi
Arkansas Frameworks(s):
5th grade
H.12.5.15 – Evaluate how early presidents influenced the development of the new nation (e.g., Washington’s Farewell Address, Marbury vs. Madison, Embargo Act, Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, banking)
Disciplinary literacy
RH.6-8.1 – Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
RH.6-8.6 – Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose.
RH.9-10.6 – Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
8th grade
Era4.1.8.4 Analyze purposes, implementation, and effects of public policies.