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Title: Trail of Tears : The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation by John Ehle ISBN: 0-385-23954-8 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 22 September, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.67 (18 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Outstanding use of source material
Comment: Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation by John Ehle. Highly recommended.
In Trail of Tears, John Ehle (who is, as far as I can tell, non-Native) sketches the people and events that led to the infamous Trail of Tears, the removal of the Cherokee Nation to "Indian Territory" (primarily Arkansas and Oklahoma) where they would "never" be bothered by whites again. The focus is on the "Treaty Party," consisting of Ridge, his son John Ridge, and his nephews Elias Boudinot and Stand Watie, along with Moravian, Methodist, and other missionaries sent to convert the Cherokees to Christianity and who are caught up in Cherokee/state/federal politics.
Ehle's bias is evident in the title; the "rise" of the Cherokees is the effort, not wholly embraced by the Nation, of adapting to European-American culture, language, religion, and even livelihood (e.g., Cherokee hunting is uncivilized, whereas the adoption of American farming is preferable). The story begins with some background and the birth of a Cherokee man named Ridge not too long before the American Revolutionary War. The white impact has already begun to be felt, as one of Ridge's forebears is white, and he and his family are driven into the wilds by the war.
After the war ends, the new Americans have one craving-land and more land. A gold strike in Georgia adds to the fever. The Cherokee, along with the Choctaw, Creek, and other southern tribes, are perceived as "wasting" land that their white counterparts should be entitled to. From this point on, it is clear that the Juggernaut of American expansionism and greed will displace the Native peoples. The question is only how and when.
Meanwhile, Ridge, who will not convert to Christianity but who wholeheartedly adopts many white ways for himself and his children, becomes not only a wealthy plantation owner but a leader of the Cherokee Nation. His son becomes an attorney, while Boudinot becomes the first editor of the Cherokee newspaper, The Phoenix. Both young men marry white New Englanders they meet while at school. Ridge and his family and allies are the first to see the writing on the wall-that the Cherokees will be removed; it is a matter of whether it is "voluntarily" on their own terms in their own time or involuntarily.
The principal chief of the Cherokee, a Cherokee-Scot named John Ross, is portrayed as a man in a state of denial. It is never clear how he thought the Cherokee could overcome the overwhelming tide of white intrusion without bloodshed and without losing. He and his followers blame the Ridge faction for selling the Cherokee out when they sign the Treaty of 1835 that puts the seal on the removal. They feel that they can continue to "negotiate," not realising that Andrew Jackson has set the tone and the terms-and that the federal government under his leadership has loaded the die. Ehle is no John Ross fan; when the inevitable finally happens and the Cherokee are removed, Ross sends them via the lengthy, dangerous, time-consuming land route, resulting in hundreds if not thousands of deaths (the number remains unknown), while Ross and his family use the quicker, less treacherous water routes.
There are several dichotomies in this history-the Upper Towns vs. the Lower Towns; the full-bloods vs. those with white ancestors/family; the uneducated (mostly full-bloods, according to Ehle) vs. the educated (John Ridge, Boudinot); the federal government vs. state government (a dichotomy that would be resolved violently through the Civil War). A forest/mountain vs. town dichotomy is also evident. In any case, anything that speaks of the way the Cherokee used to be is seen as "primitive," while Cherokee adoption of white ways is lauded by their neighbors. In fact, this is seen as the heart of the problem; the Cherokee people are pliable, are willing to adapt, are willing to live like the whites-and in the end are treated no better than their Creek, Choctaw, and Seminole counterparts. Ehle includes much contemporary commentary on this particular irony.
This book has been said to be controversial because it shows the wealthier Cherokees, like Ridge, John Ridge, and John Ross as owning African slaves. The Cherokees tried to marry their own ways with that of the European-Americans; they had always had slaves, usually captives from other tribes. But it is clear that the majority of Cherokees were poor, did not own plantations, and did not exploit slaves.
Trail of Tears is an excellent snapshot of a particular situation and will be eye opening to those who are not familiar with the story of the southern tribes and their interactions with the burgeoning American population. Ehle includes a wealth of primary sources, such as letters, journal excerpts, military orders, and the like, that serve to enrich the story. This history lesson is told in a story/fiction format enhanced by contemporary writings that keep it interesting, lively, and personal. Ehle's biases are clear but do not detract from this book as a history of a moment in time when the fate of a nation was decided. This is an excellent supplement to any broader history of the Trail of Tears.
Diane L. Schirf, 29 April 2001.
Rating: 4
Summary: One of several works to balance the whole story
Comment: As much as we'd like to pat ourselves on the back these days by saying we are the nation that is holding up the true ideals of civilization, we should always be aware that this wasn't always the case. While I believe we are the best nation on earth, we had our growing pains as much as any other group of people. Slavery is a permanent black eye. And while we condemn Sadaam Hussein for killing his own people, our country has to remember that at one time doing everything we could to eliminate the people who were here before the Caucasians was virtually government policy.
"The Trail of Tears" is only one of these incidents. History is loaded with them, including the government policy to almost make the American bison extinct, for the sole purpose of removing the food source of native Americans. "The Trail of Tears" deals with the "relocation" of the Cherokee people. No, it is not the definitive story. However, it is well researched, and presents one point of view. It is recommended that this work be read, but others also, to get a well-rounded view of a piece of history that more Americans should be aware of.
Rating: 1
Summary: Dissappointing, skewed, cumbersome reading
Comment: I was looking for a documentary-style history of the Cherokee, and this book is not it. It is hard to pull the historical facts out from the dramatized writing. Ehle¡¯s approach is to give long stylized descriptions of the presumed feelings of the characters involved. I would rather he just told what happened, and let me do my own speculating about how that made people feel.
Behind this diversionary writing, it seems like Ehle is an apologist for white trespasses. There is little description of Cherokee life before the appearance of Europeans. Instead Ehle stresses post-colonization issues that make the Cherokee less deserving of our sympathy. The book repeatedly emphasizes that Cherokee fought territorial wars with other tribes and that Cherokee owned black slaves and sold Native Americans that they captured to white slave traders. Ehle seems to forget that it was the whites who introduced the lucrative businesses of slave trade and taking land through firepower. Unlike other Native nations who stuck with the more traditional options of dying or fleeing, some Cherokee tried to successfully participate in the region¡¯s new economy.
Ehle also feeds an obsession with the sexuality of native women, describing them as attractive, flirtatious, and bold, with promiscuity and adultery ¡°said to be common.¡± While individual stories in the book give examples of injustice, the author gives no overall assessment of subjects like rape, murder, introduced diseases, and government corruption. The book conveys some of the complexity of the Cherokee history, but offers little lasting insight into topics like assimilation and US Government policy.
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Title: Cherokee Legends and the Trail of Tears by Thomas Bryan Underwood, Amanda Crowe, Tom B. Underwood ISBN: 0935741003 Publisher: Cherokee Pubns Pub. Date: February, 1997 List Price(USD): $4.95 |
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Title: Trail of Tears by GLORIA JAHODA ISBN: 0517146770 Publisher: Wings Press Pub. Date: 06 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $9.99 |
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Title: The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History With Documents (Bedford Book in History and Culture) by Theda Perdue, Michael D. Green, Micheal D. Green ISBN: 031208658X Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's Pub. Date: May, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Voices from the Trail of Tears (Real Voices, Real History Series) by Vicki Rozema ISBN: 0895872714 Publisher: John F Blair Pub Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown ISBN: 0805066691 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc. Pub. Date: 23 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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