Historical perspective on an event can vary dramatically depending on whether or not the person describing the event was involved in the event itself and if involved, how so; the amount of time between the event and the history; the existence of bias in sources used in studying the event; and the degree to which the experience is part of the author's cultural heritage. As an historical event the Trail of Tears, the story of the Cherokee removal from the southeastern U.S. to Oklahoma, is no exception. In the activity below your job as a student of the history of this event is to reflect on who is telling the story and how their telling may be colored by their own experiences, beliefs, and sources.
Points along the Trail of Tears are marked on the Trail of Tears - Recollections map. Each point represents the approximate location where a related document was created. Scroll through the map or use the links in the table of contents to move along the trail. Each section includes a brief introduction to the author involved and a link to their work. Some of the descriptions were created by participants; some by relatives of participants. Some were created at the time of the event; some over a century later. Some were created by Cherokee; some not. And some were personal accounts, while some were public. All these factors will affect your judgement of the reliability of the accounts and how readily you accept the stories presented as fact. In the end, your understanding, or your history, of the Trail of Tears will be a synthesis of the sources you find most credible.
1) Read the documents assigned to your group and complete a copy the Document Anaysis note sheet for each. Identify elements in each story that you find believable as well as any that you find unbelievable.
2) Be prepared to share your conclusions about each document as part of a class discussion explaining how credible and reliable you you find each.