TRAIL OF TEARS: America's GREATEST Regret?

It’s funny to me, today, that a certain segment of American society bemoans the fact that this subject “could” be taught in public schools. That this material teaches young people to hate their country. It’s funny, because this material was taught and made available to me in the 1980s (4th, 5th, 7th and 8th grade). In Utah schools … a very conservative state. I remember feeling shame for certain acts of my ancestors … but more importantly, the tone from my teachers brought a desire to do better. Not to hate my country. But to LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES, DON’T FORGET, and DO BETTER. I will never understand how teaching and understanding our history (both the good and the bad) is evil for our country.

As a modern-day tribal member of the pokagon potowatomi. I can say we are headed nowhere but up. I've never known community like we have for our own. 15 years ago, there was nothing but single wide trailers for our administrators. With the casinos, we now have the ability to prosper and care for all our families. The grandfather was ripped away from his family with his brothers and sisters and taken to a boarding school. Their motto was literally "kill the indian, save the man" he escaped at such a young age and hopped a train to anywhere but there. We still do tours on those hallowed grounds. Such disgusting treatment of a great race of people. Ill leave this comment with some native language, some ojibwe. "Get make ma she na anwe e'bmadziyan" -doing poorly, yet still alive. Up until recent years. That was the way of life. Pay attention to history. It's important

As a Cherokee/choctaw citizen. Thank you for making this. There is a lot of history that they have either never taught or don’t tech anymore.

Don't forget the over throw of the Kingdom of Hawaii...you want shame...try having a treaty, that was worthless.

Trail of Tears was more of a worst example of something that’d been occurring for 300 years and would continue up until the 1960’s in some manner. People will say slavery was worse and it really is more of a “Stalin or Hitler: Who was worse” kind of question. They’re both terrible and the victims of both shouldn’t be forgotten.

3:05 - Chapter 1 - The civilized tribes & their unhappy neighbors 6:15 - Chapter 2 - A matter of policy 8:25 - Chapter 3 - Fighting back 10:55 - Chapter 4 - A trail of death & tears 13:45 - Chapter 5 - Aftermath 16:10 - Chapter 6 - Rebuilding what was lost 19:05 - Chapter 7 - The legacy of the trail 21:45 - Conclusion

I remember reading the story about this a few years ago and it brought me to tears...amazing video

Everybody needs to hear this story. Never forget .

Excellent video, as ever. But this one was definitely more important than the average video. Thank you for bringing this injustice to light.

Please talk about Wounded Knee, Sand Creek, the Dakota 38, Boarding Schools/Residential Schools, Alcatraz Occupation or the California Genocide. These stories need to be told to the world, please.

What did the cotton gin have to do with this? The cotton gin vastly reduced the cost of removing seeds from cotton bolls. The demand for cotton shot up. But land was needed to grow that cotton. Hence the Trail of Tears. Then some bodies were needed to pick the cotton. Technology changes economics and the Economic Power Games.

This really was Americas biggest shame. The Indians that the government expelled were living no different than any other american in their communities. The indians were farmers and ranchers just like their white neighbors. They lived in the same kind of houses, shopped in the same stores, went to the same churches, had fought in the same wars. These expelled americans were no different than anyone else in their communities, except that they could be lumped into the catagory of "others" and taken advantage of by the greedy who wanted their land. And this is a lesson we must never forget.

Thanks For this eric! Love your content❤❤❤❤

This needs to go viral!!!! The truth needs to be told & people need to hear about the true suffering instead of trying to act like none of it happened.. They sugar-coated it when I was in school & I knew then that it was a bunch of bs they were trying to teach.. Thanks for telling the truth...

This is something that everyone needs to see!! Utterly shameful and despicable behaviour!!! 😢 the federal government still doesn't treat the native Americans horribly 😢😢😮

Maybe you could do a video like this for the First Nations of Australia and the Ainu in Japan.

“One of the worst” is not something we hear often enough

Post civil war treatment of western plains people is just as shameful.

History never repeats itself, but it often rhymes.

This was a much needed look into this. It would be great if you could talk about Tecumseh and Mad Anthony Wayne. That is another story that should be known to the wider world.