The price of Cherokee removal |
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| Authors: | Matthew T. Gregg David M. Wishart |
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| Affiliation: | 1. University of Bayreuth, Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration, IZA – Institute of Labor Economics, Kiel Institute for the World Economy and RWI Research Network, Faculty of Law, Business and Economics, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany;2. University of Hohenheim, CEPR and CESifo Department of Economics, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany;1. Ifo, CESifo, CEPR and CAGE. Ifo Institute, Poschingerstr. 5, Munich 81679, Germany;2. Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, Poschingerstr. 5, Munich 81679, Germany;1. Brown University, Department of Economics, Robinson Hall, 64 Waterman Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA;2. UCLA Anderson School of Management, 110 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles CA 90095, USA;3. NBER, USA |
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| Abstract: | In this paper, we estimate the social costs and income transfers of Cherokee removal, i.e., “The Trail of Tears.” Our cost estimates provide several new insights into this extensively studied topic. First, our estimate of the number of removal-related fatalities is considerably lower than the commonly accepted figure of 4000. Second, the uncompensated value of ceded Cherokee land in the southeast was the largest cost borne by the Cherokees, followed in magnitude by the value of lost agricultural output due to removal. Third, American taxpayers paid for roughly 44% of the total social costs of removal. Also, the cost burden of Cherokee removal, as a share of 1 year's GDP, was greater for the Cherokees than the cost burden of any major war for the American population. |
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