Participants:
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW020219S
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00:18 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written.
00:20 I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me. 00:24 You can't hear the sounds now, but you can imagine. 00:28 This is, or was, New Echota. 00:32 For a time, for one people group, 00:35 it was the center of the world. 00:38 In 1825, New Echota became the capital of the Cherokee Nation. 00:42 There was a courthouse here. 00:44 The first Indian-language newspaper was printed here. 00:47 There was a council house. 00:48 The home of missionary Samuel Worcester was here. 00:51 There were stores. 00:52 It was a small sort of settlement, 00:54 but extraordinarily important. 00:56 And when councils were held here, 00:59 hundreds of Cherokee would gather. 01:01 But eventually, soldiers would fill this place, 01:04 and the people for whom these lands had been home 01:07 for hundreds or, or thousands of years, 01:09 would be removed and marched 800 miles 01:13 on what the Cherokee would call "Nunna daul Tsuny," 01:17 "The Place Where They Cried." 01:19 We know it today as the Trail of Tears. 01:23 Entire people groups would be dispossessed of their land. 01:26 Thousands would die in a series of acts of gross inhumanity. 01:32 The United States had been populated by Native Americans, 01:36 American Indians. 01:38 Hundreds of tribes lived across what would become 01:40 the 49 states, with Hawaii being the exception. 01:44 From the Wabanaki in Maine in the Northeast 01:47 to the Navajo and the Chumash in the Southwest, 01:50 from the Muckleshoot and the Quinault in Washington 01:53 and the Aleuts and Athabascans in Alaska 01:56 to the Seminoles in Florida in the Southeast, 01:59 North America was Indian country. 02:03 Europeans first came to what we'd now call the United States 02:07 early in the 1500s. 02:09 Settling here didn't come easy, 02:11 and to begin with, it didn't go well at all. 02:15 The Calusa people resisted attempts made by Ponce de León 02:19 to settle in Florida, and he left. 02:22 Other conquistadors and explorers followed in his wake: 02:25 Verrazzano, Gómez. 02:28 De Soto explored the Southeast from Florida to Arkansas, 02:32 becoming likely the first European 02:34 to cross the Mississippi. 02:36 Spanish settlers founded St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565, 02:41 and in 1585, British settlers attempted to establish 02:45 a colony on Roanoke Island, on what today we call 02:48 the Outer Banks of North Carolina, 02:50 incidentally, just 10 miles or so from where 02:53 the Wright Brothers would become the first in flight. 02:56 The first permanent European settlement in the Americas 02:59 was Jamestown, near present-day Williamsburg, Virginia, 03:04 established in 1607. 03:06 The Mayflower arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts, 03:09 in 1620, and there could be no going back. 03:13 For the settlers, there was a massive expanse to explore 03:17 and tame and...colonize. 03:21 But there was a delicate question: 03:23 What to do about the people already living here? 03:27 American history is colored with stories romanticizing 03:30 the early settlement of this country: 03:32 stories about European-Native relations, 03:35 Pocahontas, and Squanto, 03:38 and cowboys and Indians in the Wild West. 03:41 But what can be easy to overlook is that the earliest inhabitants 03:44 of this land were real people, with real families, 03:48 and a very real way of life. 03:51 This was going to get difficult, 03:52 this question of the native peoples. 03:55 This was their land. 03:58 What do you do about that? 03:59 [rasping sound of cicadas] 04:01 President George Washington favored assimilation, 04:05 meaning that, over time, the native peoples and the Europeans 04:09 would become so intertwined 04:10 that they would basically become one people. 04:13 In other words, Indians would assimilate 04:16 into the European culture. 04:18 Their own culture would basically die out, 04:21 and the Europeans would end up with the land. 04:24 President Thomas Jefferson urged Indian tribes in the East 04:27 to relocate to the West. 04:30 He hoped that the Louisiana Purchase would provide land 04:33 for eastern tribes to voluntarily relocate. 04:36 Some did. 04:38 The government wanted Indians out of the East. 04:44 It's hard to say how many Indians were living 04:46 in what became the United States when Europeans first arrived. 04:50 No question it was in the millions, 04:52 maybe tens of millions. 04:54 But once Europeans arrived, 04:56 and along with them disease epidemics and then conquest, 05:01 those numbers plunged. 05:03 But there were more than enough Indians in North America to... 05:07 well, to get in the way, and they were in the way. 05:11 They were in the way of progress, as some saw it. 05:14 They were in the way of expansion and domination, 05:17 and they were in the way of power and wealth. 05:21 By the 19th century, there were five Native American tribes-- 05:24 or nations actually--in the Southeast of the United States. 05:28 They were known as the Five Civilized Tribes. 05:32 They were the Chickasaw, 05:34 the Choctaw, the Creek, 05:36 the Seminole, and the Cherokee. 05:38 They had adopted Christianity to some extent. 05:41 There was literacy, intermarriage with whites, 05:44 and generally good relationships with Europeans 05:47 and the United States government. 05:49 The Cherokee in particular had adopted many European ways. 05:53 But in the 19th century, the federal government initiated 05:57 Indian removal, the forced relocation of the tribes, 06:01 or nations, living east of the Mississippi. 06:05 The government would compel people who had occupied 06:07 certain territory for hundreds, thousands of years 06:10 to leave their homes, their possessions, their land 06:14 and everything on it, and everything below it, 06:17 and move almost a thousand miles away--on foot. 06:22 Obtaining Indian land had been a stated goal 06:25 of the U.S. government since the 1790s, perhaps even before. 06:29 But in the 1800s, 06:31 the whole process was kicked into high gear. 06:34 Almost 40 different treaties 06:35 enacted between 1721 and 1819 06:39 saw Cherokee lands reduced drastically 06:42 from what they were before European settlement. 06:45 Much of the Cherokee land in Tennessee had been lost. 06:49 The land in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia was lost. 06:54 The Cherokee lost 90 percent of their territory. 06:58 After he was elected the seventh president of the United States 07:01 in 1829, Andrew Jackson said during his inaugural address 07:06 that he wanted to "observe toward the Indian tribes 07:10 "within our limits a just and liberal policy, 07:13 "and to give that humane and considerate attention 07:16 "to their rights and their wants 07:18 "which is consistent with the habits of our Government 07:21 and the feelings of our people." 07:23 Some hoped this might mean the United States would honor 07:26 the numerous agreements and treaties it had already signed 07:29 with native peoples. 07:30 But that was not to be. 07:34 Things became truly dire for the Cherokee in 1829 07:38 when gold was discovered in northern Georgia. 07:41 The Georgia state legislature enacted 07:43 a series of draconian laws. 07:46 Cherokees could not dig for gold, for example. 07:48 A Cherokee couldn't testify against a white man in court. 07:52 Contracts between a Cherokee and a white man had to be witnessed 07:56 by two whites. 07:57 Cherokee land was sold to European settlers 08:00 through a lottery system. 08:02 Cherokee were driven from their homes; 08:05 often their homes were looted and burned. 08:09 A year later, May 28, 1830, 08:13 President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, 08:17 which stated the Five Civilized Nations would have to leave 08:20 their ancestral lands and move to present-day Oklahoma. 08:25 In 1835, a group of Cherokees signed the Treaty of New Echota 08:30 in a home right here, making the Trail of Tears an inevitability. 08:38 And God watched on, 08:40 hoping to see humanity rise to the occasion, 08:43 strengthening those in the position of weakness, 08:47 and hoping that those in authority would be humble enough 08:51 to act with dignity and fairness and honor. 08:55 God is familiar with tears. 08:59 I'll be back in just a moment. 09:01 ♪[music swells and ends]♪ 09:10 >>John: There is power in the Word of God, 09:12 and power available to you through the promises of God. 09:16 God wants you to experience that power, and so do I. 09:19 I'd like you to have today's free offer, 09:21 "Promises of Power," 09:23 new from It Is Written. 09:25 To receive "Promises of Power," 09:26 call 800-253-3000. 09:29 You could write to the address on your screen 09:31 or visit us online at iiwoffer.com. 09:35 And be sure you receive "Promises of Power." 09:41 ♪[ominous music]♪ 09:43 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 09:46 The New World was a vast expanse promising wealth and opportunity 09:50 to those who settled here. 09:52 But the reality for those who came to this new land was that 09:55 they'd invited themselves into someone else's backyard. 09:59 So the government of the United States, 10:00 along with state governments, were determined to move 10:03 the original habitants of this continent 10:06 off their ancestral land. 10:09 President Jackson's Indian removal bill, signed in 1830, 10:13 passed in the House of Representatives 10:15 by just five votes. 10:18 The Cherokee took the state of Georgia to court. 10:20 Supreme Court decisions meant that Georgia had no right 10:24 to enforce its laws in Cherokee territory. 10:27 A reprieve for the Cherokee. 10:30 But President Andrew Jackson, 10:32 President Andrew Jackson ignored the ruling of the Supreme Court. 10:38 The Cherokee would be rounded up and moved out. 10:43 Now, people everywhere knew that this was wrong. 10:47 This wasn't something which at the time 10:49 appeared less deplorable owing to the times 10:52 and was only seen for what it was many years later. 10:55 No, at the time, this was recognized by many 11:00 as a reprehensible, morally repugnant, criminal act. 11:05 But the people entrusted with the responsibility 11:08 to stop such actions wouldn't. 11:12 The Seminole would be removed from their home in Florida. 11:16 The Creek occupied parts of Georgia, Florida, 11:19 South Carolina, and Alabama. 11:21 The Choctaw were located mainly in Mississippi and Alabama. 11:24 The Chickasaw were in Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, 11:28 while the Cherokee originally were in Tennessee, 11:31 North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, 11:34 parts of West Virginia, and Virginia as well. 11:38 All would have to leave. 11:40 Other smaller tribes to the north would also be removed, 11:44 but they were small enough that they couldn't really provide 11:46 any real resistance to the government. 11:49 The five larger tribes strongly resisted removal. 11:53 But by 1832, four of the five had signed treaties 11:57 with the government agreeing to move west. 12:00 What else could they really do? 12:02 Their removal was inevitable. 12:05 The Cherokee held out for several more years. 12:07 Their opposition was led by a man named John Ross, 12:11 who for nearly 40 years was the principal chief of the Cherokee. 12:15 Ross himself had felt the sting in the tail of the government. 12:19 After traveling to Washington to represent his people in 1833 12:23 in an attempt to stop their removal, 12:26 Ross returned home to Georgia to discover 12:29 that his plantation had been given away by lottery. 12:32 He found his family walking to Tennessee in the rain. 12:37 He moved to Tennessee and settled 12:39 in present-day Chattanooga. 12:42 This is the site of Ross's Landing. 12:44 Cherokee gathered here as they prepared to move west, 12:49 never again to see their homeland. 12:51 Now, not all Cherokee felt as Ross did. 12:54 Some felt that the prudent thing to do 12:56 would be to sign a treaty and move west, 12:59 believing that resisting the federal government was futile. 13:03 A small group of Cherokee signed a treaty with the government 13:06 at a council at New Echota. 13:08 The government would give the Cherokee $5 million, 13:11 a place to live, and the Cherokee would move. 13:15 The problem was the group who signed the treaty 13:18 were not authorized to do so. 13:20 John Ross traveled to Washington, D.C., 13:22 to protest the treaty, 13:24 but he wasn't permitted to meet with the President. 13:27 The Senate approved the treaty by one vote, 13:31 and that was enough for Andrew Jackson, 13:33 who passed it into law. 13:35 Approximately 16,000 Cherokee would eventually sign a petition 13:39 protesting the treaty, 13:41 but new president Martin Van Buren ignored the petition. 13:47 Under General Winfield Scott, the Cherokee were rounded up 13:50 at military posts and taken to one of 11 camps 13:54 in Tennessee and Alabama. 13:56 They were typically kept in stockades. 13:58 The possessions they left behind were looted by settlers. 14:02 A soldier who had grown up among the Cherokee later said 14:05 that he "witnessed the execution of the most brutal order 14:09 "in the History of American Warfare. 14:12 "I saw the helpless Cherokees arrested and dragged 14:15 "from their homes, and driven at the bayonet point 14:18 "into the stockades. 14:19 "And in the chill of a drizzling rain on an October morning 14:23 "I saw them loaded like cattle or sheep 14:26 "into six hundred and forty-five wagons 14:29 and started toward the west." 14:32 By the end of June of 1838, 14:34 the last Cherokee had been expelled from Georgia. 14:38 Fifteen hundred departed from right here. 14:41 Their removal to the west was to be carried out by boat, 14:45 but a severe drought caused river levels to become so low 14:48 this wasn't possible. 14:50 It was also very hot that summer. 14:52 The forced removal would be delayed until later in the year. 14:56 Conditions in the Cherokee camps were...abysmal. 15:01 So Chief John Ross negotiated 15:03 for Cherokee to lead their own removal. 15:06 ♪[ominous music]♪ 15:08 [traffic noise] 15:10 When the Cherokee finally left to head west 15:12 in October of 1838, rain and cold weather came. 15:18 The multiple groups took varying routes. 15:21 One group left from Fort Cass, Tennessee, 15:24 in what is present-day Charleston, Tennessee. 15:27 Those that would go to Oklahoma 15:28 via the northern land route assembled here. 15:31 Some sources say the majority of Cherokee were gathered 15:35 at the internment camp that was situated here. 15:38 General Winfield Scott's headquarters were here. 15:41 [rasping sound of cicadas] 15:43 Here at Blythe Ferry on the Hiwassee River, 15:45 many of the groups that left their ancestral homeland 15:49 crossed right here into an uncertain future. 15:53 The man who operated the ferry was William Blythe, 15:56 who, according to historians, left the area himself 15:59 and headed west with his Cherokee wife. 16:03 [footsteps] 16:05 ♪[ominous music]♪ 16:06 The memorial here today features the names 16:09 of 2,500 heads of household. 16:13 Although there are no accurate records 16:15 for the numbers of deaths that resulted from the relocation, 16:18 it's generally believed that around 4,000 16:21 of the 16,542 Cherokees forcibly removed from their homeland 16:26 perished as a result of the Cherokee removal 16:29 in 1838 and 1839. 16:32 Of course, that number could be significantly higher. 16:34 The wife of John Ross was one who died along the way. 16:39 The Trail of Tears wasn't simply one road or trail 16:42 from the east to Oklahoma. 16:45 The Cherokee and those who traveled with them, 16:47 including slaves they owned, traveled in 17 or so groups 16:51 along three main land routes and a river route. 16:55 Those who traveled by land either walked 16:58 or traveled by wagon or on horseback. 17:01 Many of them traveled for more than three months 17:04 during what was an especially harsh winter. 17:09 Over the years, the Cherokee did whatever they could 17:12 to appease the people wanting their land. 17:14 They often ceded great chunks of land to the settlers 17:17 in an attempt to keep the peace. 17:19 But peace couldn't be kept. 17:22 It was land the settlers wanted, and they would get it. 17:26 And they did. 17:28 It reminds me of another land grab. 17:30 Someone who came from a faraway place to a land 17:34 that was not his own and claimed dominion he had no right to. 17:39 That story, however, has a happy ending, 17:42 because Somebody else came to the world 17:45 and walked His own trail of tears. 17:48 I'll have more in just a moment. 17:51 ♪[music swells and ends]♪ 17:59 >>John: There is power in the Word of God, 18:02 and power available to you through the promises of God. 18:06 God wants you to experience that power, and so do I. 18:09 I'd like you to have today's free offer, 18:11 "Promises of Power," 18:13 new from It Is Written. 18:15 To receive "Promises of Power," 18:16 call 800-253-3000. 18:19 You could write to the address on your screen 18:21 or visit us online at iiwoffer.com. 18:25 And be sure you receive "Promises of Power." 18:29 >>John: Join me on It Is Written 18:31 for one of the great chapters of the Bible: 18:35 Isaiah chapter 53. 18:37 Isaiah has been called the gospel prophet 18:39 because how he repeatedly brings Jesus to light 18:43 throughout the book of Isaiah, 18:44 and there's no chapter in the book of Isaiah 18:46 where he does that more than Isaiah chapter 53. 18:50 Isaiah 53 has been quoted in the New Testament numerous times, 18:54 and you see why when you study God's Word 18:57 and focus on Isaiah chapter 53. 19:00 It's about Jesus Christ crucified, 19:03 the One who died for the sins of the world. 19:06 The Jesus that you and I know is coming back to this world 19:09 to take us home. 19:11 Don't miss "Great Chapters of the Bible: Isaiah [Chapter] 53." 19:16 You will be moved. You'll be blessed. 19:19 And you will be encouraged in faith in God. 19:23 "Great Chapters of the Bible: Isaiah 53." 19:26 Watch now on It Is Written TV. 19:30 >>John Bradshaw: The Trail of Tears was the forced removal 19:33 of the Five Civilized Tribes from the American Southeast. 19:37 They were far from the only tribes removed and dispossessed 19:41 of their ancient lands. 19:42 But the Cherokee were the last to be removed. 19:45 They were taken from various locations. 19:48 The vast majority walked the 800 miles to what would become 19:52 their new home in Oklahoma. 19:54 Thousands died along the way. 19:57 Before the journey began, they were kept in hideous conditions 20:00 in internment camps. 20:02 Forty minutes from Ross's Landing is Red Clay State Park. 20:08 It's where the Cherokee national government met for the last time 20:11 before the enforcement of the Indian Removal Act. 20:15 Between 1832 and 1837, a dozen or so general councils 20:19 were held right here. 20:21 Thousands of Cherokee would attend, 20:24 again and again rejecting the proposed agreements 20:27 to surrender their land and move west. 20:30 The Trail of Tears really began here. 20:33 An eternal flame burns here at Red Clay, 20:36 a perpetual memorial to those who suffered and died 20:39 during the atrocity. 20:43 Now, sometimes in stories like this you find a silver lining. 20:46 "Well, at least this happened." 20:49 Except there's no silver lining in this story, 20:51 no fairytale ending. 20:53 The Cherokee and other tribes were driven from their land, 20:56 sent to live in another time zone, 20:59 and that was that. 21:01 That's often what happens in life. 21:04 We're reminded that the Bible speaks about a time 21:07 when people would lose their liberties 21:10 through no fault of their own. 21:12 According to the book of Revelation, 21:14 there'll be a time when people who are faithful to God 21:16 will not be able to buy and sell, 21:19 and ultimately, many will lose their lives. 21:23 Daniel wrote about "a time of trouble, 21:25 such as never was since there was a nation," 21:28 in Daniel 12 and verse 1. 21:31 If there's someone who understands injustice, 21:33 it's God. 21:35 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," 21:38 according to the very first line of the Bible. 21:41 He created a beautiful dwelling place 21:43 for our first grandparents. 21:45 But it wasn't long before an enemy had robbed them 21:49 of their homeland. 21:51 They were banished from the Garden of Eden, 21:54 and everywhere they went, sin followed them. 21:59 When were the first tears shed on this earth? 22:03 Was it then, when Adam and Eve were banished from Eden? 22:06 Was it when they began to realize 22:08 the awful consequences of sin? 22:11 The Bible doesn't say, but it's hard to imagine 22:14 that there were no tears around the time sin entered the world. 22:18 Animals died to provide clothing for Adam and Eve, 22:21 the first animals to die. 22:23 We could safely suppose that there were tears then. 22:29 It's interesting that the first time you find tears 22:32 explicitly mentioned in the Bible, it's in the case 22:35 of people who'd been banished from their home. 22:38 In Genesis 21, Hagar is rejected by Abraham and Sarah. 22:42 She believes her child Ishmael is going to die. 22:45 "So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept." 22:50 Tears of desperation. 22:53 In Genesis 23:2 we read: 22:55 "And Sarah died...and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah 22:59 and to weep for her." 23:02 Tears of lamentation. 23:04 Joseph wept when he was reunited with his brothers. 23:07 They were tears of reconciliation. 23:09 Baby Moses wept in the basket boat. 23:12 Tears of innocence. 23:14 The children of Israel wept in the wilderness 23:16 as they remembered the food they had back in Egypt. 23:18 Tears of greed, of faithlessness. 23:23 Hannah wept because she was without child. 23:25 Tears of supplication. 23:27 Israel wept in the Psalms when they remembered Zion, 23:29 Psalm 137. 23:31 Tears of, of regret, tears of longing. 23:35 Jeremiah has been called "the weeping prophet." 23:38 He said, "Oh that my head were waters, 23:40 "and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep 23:44 day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" 23:47 Jeremiah 9, verse 1. 23:50 Mary Magdalene washed Jesus' feet with tears of repentance. 23:54 Peter wept. 23:56 Matthew 26:75 says that after he had denied Jesus 23:59 the third time, "he went out, and wept bitterly." 24:04 The shortest verse in the Bible tells us 24:07 that as He stood at the tomb of Lazarus, "Jesus wept." 24:11 John 11:35. 24:13 Jesus' ministry was its own trail of tears. 24:17 He came to this world to live the life that we could not live 24:20 and to offer us everlasting life, as a gift. 24:24 You know, I don't want to stretch this too far, 24:26 but if God doesn't weep over seeing people reject 24:30 the gift of salvation, at least it has to break His heart. 24:35 But what happens in the end of all this? 24:38 One of the most hopeful verses in the Bible 24:42 is Revelation 21, verse 4. 24:44 It says, 24:45 "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; 24:48 "and there shall be no more death, 24:50 "neither sorrow, nor crying, 24:52 "neither shall there be any more pain: 24:54 for the former things are passed away." 24:57 In this world, there's injustice; there's pain. 25:01 Some of that can be addressed. 25:03 Sometimes wrongs are righted. 25:06 Sometimes. 25:07 It didn't happen in the case of the Trail of Tears. 25:10 But there's coming a time when every wrong will be righted, 25:14 when every illness will have been cured, 25:16 where death no longer happens, 25:19 where tears will never more be shed. 25:23 For some people, the pain of this earth is just too much. 25:25 Seems that way. 25:27 But one day, one day when Jesus returns, 25:30 He's going to make all the wrongs right, 25:33 and He wants you to be ready for that day. 25:36 Jesus has been through enough pain already. 25:39 He shed enough tears. 25:41 Your salvation will mean more to heaven 25:43 than you could possibly know. 25:47 Can you make a decision today to allow Jesus to have your heart? 25:51 To look beyond this world to the world to come, 25:53 to accept Jesus into your life by faith? 25:56 One day, no more tears, just perfection forever. 26:00 You want to be there. 26:02 God wants you to be there. 26:06 >>John: Thank you for remembering that It Is Written 26:08 exists because of the kindness of people just like you. 26:11 To support this international life-changing ministry, 26:14 please call us now at 800-253-3000. 26:18 You can send your tax-deductible gift 26:20 to the address on your screen, 26:21 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 26:25 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support. 26:28 Our number again is 800-253-3000, 26:32 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 26:37 >>John Bradshaw: Let's pray together now. 26:38 Our Father in heaven, 26:40 we thank You that one day 26:41 there will be no more tears. 26:44 The Trail of Tears reminds us that this is a world 26:48 of injustice and harshness and cruelty and sadness and pain. 26:53 But we are reminded today 26:55 that this is still a world of blessing. 26:57 Your Word reminds us that Your mercies are new every morning, 27:01 and our hope today is in the blessed hope. 27:04 One day Jesus will come back and take care of all of those things 27:09 that trouble us. 27:10 Friend, where is your hope today? 27:12 Can you look beyond this world? 27:15 To a Savior who has shed tears for you 27:18 and is looking forward to coming back to this world 27:21 so that you can be with Him forever. 27:23 Is the return of Jesus your hope, friend? 27:25 If it isn't, tell God right now 27:28 you wish Jesus to be your Savior. 27:30 Invite the God of heaven to take your heart and make it His own. 27:34 And He will. 27:36 Father, we look forward to that day, 27:38 and we thank You that through Jesus we have now 27:43 the hope of everlasting life in a land with no more tears. 27:47 And we pray in Jesus' name, 27:50 amen. 27:51 Thanks so much for joining me. 27:52 I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time. 27:54 Until then, remember: 27:56 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 28:00 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 28:04 ♪[dramatic theme music]♪ |
Revised 2020-09-08