The Long, Bitter Trail - (Hill and Wang Critical Issues) by Anthony Wallace (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The Hill and Wang Critical Issues Series: concise, affordable works on pivotal topics in American history, society, and politics.

This account of Congress's Indian Removal Act of 1830 focuses on the plight of the Indians of the Southeast--Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles--who were forced to leave their ancestral lands and relocate to what is now the state of Oklahoma. Revealing Andrew Jackson's central role in the government's policies, Wallace examines the racist attitudes toward Native Americans that led to their removal and, ultimately, their tragic fate.

Review Quotes

"This informative, insightful, and sobering study deserves the attention of all who would understand American Indian policy, not just in Jackson's period but in our own." --Howard Lamar, Yale University

"Lucidly written, free of professional jargon, and a good synthesis of Jacksonian Indian policy and the Native American response." --R. David Edmunds, Journal of American History

"In this splendid little book, Anthony F.C. Wallace surveys the making and the legacy of a monumental tragedy, as seen from all sides. Wallace's exactness, concision, and calmness of tone render his account all the more powerful and instructive." --Sean Wilentz, Princeton University

About the Author

Anthony F.C. Wallace is a professor of history and anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of many books, including Rockdale, which won the Bancroft Prize in 1978. He lives in Pennsylvania.