Trail of Tears

In the line of my work I met a contractor, who is a Cherokee. He wanted me to read a book -"Trail of Tears The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation by John Ehle. The book was really chewed up. I mean my Cherokee friend told me his dog had been chewing on it. I put in on a shelf at work and thought nothing more about it until I met my friend about a year later. "Have you read the book", he said. Well I hadn't, but I decided right then that if someone loans me a book, it's important and I owe it them to read it.
Ehle masterfully wove together the complex history of the Cherokee as centered upon Major Ridge, who was a visionary leader of his people. Ultimately he decided the only course for his people was to emigrate to the west. This decision had a heavy price. I am uncertain now about Andrew Jackson, who I always believed was a terrible president for driving the Cherokee out of there homes. The Cherokee fought side by side with him against the Creeks, the Seminoles and the in the War of 1812, but as president of the U.S. he didn't support them in the struggle to keep their land from the Georgians who wished to take it. Why didn't he support them? He continued to affirm that he was their friend, but he believed it was in their best interest to move west where they could be free of conflict with whites. In the end the Cherokee nation was fractured and a bloody conflict erupted between those who did not support the treaty and those who did.
If you ever wanted to learn about the history of the Trail of Tears, I highly recommend this book.