Indian Removal Packet
In Cherokee Removal: The Trail of Tears and Loss of Freedom, there were two detachments of
over 1,600 Cherokees had been sent to the west during the sick season. They were forced to
leave their new houses and encountered brutal treatments. Some of the Cherokees may had been
staying in their comfortable homes a couple of days ago, but they were asked to move away from
their lands. The principal Cherokee pleased for a postpone on the removal due to the severe
weather, but there were no replies. It was predicted that only one-quarter of the people could stay
alive till reaching the destination because of the climate. The writer of In Their Own Words
described the encountering of 8,000 Cherokees had on the way to Georgia. A Cherokee womans
children were missing and she requested to look for them. After one or two days, she finally got
permission to let a friend go find her children. A deaf and dumb man was shot dead because he
attempted to run away from the troops and couldn't hear the commands. The Cherokees became
homeless and their properties had been rubbed by the white inhabitants. They were exposed to
open air day and night till they finally made to their destination, When they reached the post of
Georgia, most of them barely had clothes to cover their themselves. In the second excerpt of
Cherokee Removal: The Trail of Tears and Loss of Freedom, the writer described that the
Cherokees living condition was extremely poor. They camped in the forests under several
rainfalls. Elder people were suffering from health problems. Sick people stayed in wagons and
the rest were on foot. Old females had to carrying heavy burdens with bare feet on the frozen
ground. They were desperate and abhorred their enemies.
Thoughts: I felt depressed while reading the Indian Removal because I cannot imagine how
people felt when they were asked to leave their own land by the intruders. I also felt anger
because they were told how well their life would be after they moving to the west, but the truth
was completely different. They were fooled by the settlers and lost everything they had had.
David Walkers Appeal
David Walker discussed the injustice his ancestors and people of his own race had suffered or
have been suffering. He emphasized that slavery had made African-Americans to be degraded by
the whites. He mentioned about the Egyptian slavery and thought American slavery was much
worse than Egyptians in terms of the treatment the enslaved people received. He pointed out that
slaveowners were brutal and ignorant. Slaveowners perceived the enslaved people as objects,
chained them up and beat them with whips. David Walker was furious about Thomas Jeffersons
negative speech towards African-Americans. He believed that African-Americans made a lot of
effort to the nation and they shouldnt be seen as degraded people. He also encouraged them to
be confident since every person should be treated equally as the Declaration of Independence
said.
Thoughts: David Walker illustrated his thoughts on the slavery as a free black person. He talked
about how people think about the salves and how unequal they were treated. He quoted the
Declaration of Independence to appeal that everyone should be given the equal rights.
The Liberator
Willian Lloyd Garrison was the founder of the newspaper, The Liberator. He illustrated his
view of point on slavery in his articles and posted them on The Liberator. He had been to many
places to see what people think about slavery, but he found out that the public were careless
about this issue. Then he chose to speak up for the enslaved people by spreading his words
through The Liberator. He wanted people to know that people should be treated equally
regardless what skin color they have and the slavery should be abolished as soon as possible.
Thoughts: Willian Lloyd Garrison made a great contribution to the abolition of the slavery. He
wished to appeal people to give more attention to the slavery related problems through his own
way. He was a great person who advocates for the abolition of slavery and equality of human
rights.
The Confessions of Nat Turner
Nat Turner, a slave, had been living with his master, Mr. Joseph Travis, since the commencement
of 1830. Even thought his master treated him quite well, he gathered Henry, Hark, Nelson, Sam
other blacks and killed his masters family and their neighbors in a cruel way. Their kill started at
the dinner in Mr. Travis house. Then, they broke into peoples houses and killed every white
people they saw. After the mass murder, he escaped but finally got caught. He showed no regrets
for the death of the people he had killed.
Thoughts: The mass murder Nat Turner and his fellows made to the white people reflected the
dissatisfaction they had towards the slaveowners as well as the slavery system. The thing Nat
Turner had done was horrible without any doubts; on the other hand, it caught peoples attention
to let them rethink if its just to enslave black people and mark them as degraded in terms of
social class.