An American Betrayal

By examining the history of the Cherokee removal from the Southeast (the Trail of Tears) through the prism of Cherokee patriotism, Smith (formerly history, Univ. of Kentucky; coauthor, The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America) provides a distinct and refreshing perspective that sets this title apart from the many other books on the topic. Smith sympathizes with Chief John Ross and his faction, showing that their patriotism was evident because they refused to cede their ancestral homelands to the United States. The Treaty Party members, most notably Elias Boudinot, Major Ridge, and John Ridge, are also shown here to be patriots in having determined that the only way to retain Cherokee culture and sovereignty was to move away from white settlers and establish a new homeland in the West. Boudinot and the Ridges ultimately signed away the Cherokee homeland in the Treaty of New Echota. That act cost them their lives at the hands of John Ross's supporters.