Trail of Tears #107

 

    This depressing name refers to a dark time in history in which Democratic President Andrew Jackson forced the Cherokee to leave Georgia on a hike to Oklahoma.  The Cherokee was the only North America Native American tribe to have a written language, a constitution and a democracy. Jackson violated his oath of office by not upholding a Supreme Court rule preventing the Cherokee removal. Sarah Vowell recounts her trek on the Trail of Tears which her ancestors marched. If I was there, I would imagine where people struggled and died as they walked to Oklahoma. Vowell felt the connection with her ancestors which included anger and disappointment towards the president. Is America good? Is America bad? Vowell while listening to Chuck Barry and driving on the trail has an inner conflict, she comes to the conclusion its both.  No country is perfect, but we should remember the past and the struggles that came with it in order to understand people's suffering that came with establishing America to what it is today. Although we learn about America's past in our history classes, we fail to grasp the gravity of what many had to go through due to the various injustices in our past. We are free of history, we don't have to worry about life and death struggles. For Vowell driving across seven states helped her realize and understand the deep wounds in our history. For me, its hearing and reading stories from family and from famed authors which helped give me a glimpse of what occurred long ago.



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