Trail of Tears Seminar Reflection

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SEMINAR PLAN: “A Soldier Recalls the Trail of Tears” (1890)[1] John G. Burnett Ideas and Values: history, human rights, memory, property, race Pre-Seminar Content – Present relevant background information: Have participants number the paragraphs 1-27 on their copy of the transcript. Then have them do a first, inspectional read of the whole text. Note that: Cherokee removal, also called the Trail of Tears, refers to the forced relocation between 1836 to 1839 of the Cherokee Nation from their lands in Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina to the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) in the Western United States, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 4,000 Cherokees. The policy of Indian Removal was championed by President Andrew Jackson, despite the strong opposition of the majority of Cherokee people, led by Chief John Ross. In 1832, the Cherokee petitioned the Senate of the United States to protect their rights under the Constitution of the United States, but the Senate rejected their petition. Note the background details given by Burnett in the first paragraph of the narrative. Note that the narrative was written fifty-two years after the events he describes—and by an eighty-year-old man. Have participants read the text a second time more slowly, marking key events that Burnett chose to emphasize. Process –Prepare participants to participate in seminar discussion: Be sure participants are settled and seated where everyone can see each other’s face. Then relay… “A Paideia Seminar is a thoughtful discussion where we work with others to understand important ideas. “The main purpose for discussing Letter from Birmingham Jail is to better understand history, human rights, memory, property, race —to better understand what we think of these ideas as well as how others view

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