Rattlesnake Springs was one of the stockade camps where Cherokees were initially collected after being forced off of their land. It is located in the far southeastern corner of Tennessee, near the North Carolina border. Six hundred Cherokees camped at Rattlesnake Springs in July 1838, waiting to leave for the West. More than 4,800 Cherokees waited at camps in this general area before relocation. The final council of the Eastern Cherokees was held at Rattlesnake Springs. Lamentations were pronounced and the council determined to continue their old constitution and laws in the new land.
Many of the deaths attributed to the Trail of Tears happened in the kinds of stockade camps described in the case study. Most of these were caused by brutality from the soldiers in charge. Which group should have governed the behavior of the soldiers in these camps?
A. The military: few of the camps were close to any other government groups and the Cherokee were powerless to protect themselves.
B. The Cherokee: they were still on native land and the Cherokee had their own laws and the means to enforce them.
C. The state governments: most of the laws broken by the soldiers were enforceable only by state officials.
D. The Congress: the removal acts were passed by Congress and its members were responsible to the Cherokee people.