Discussion Topic This unit covers the removal of Native American tribes to Indian Territory. Today, we
judge the methods used by the US government harshly, believing that the forced
relocation of these tribes was wrong. Some historians believe that using present-day
ideas about right and wrong to judge the past makes it more difficult to understand
history. This idea is known as presentism.
What do you think? Do you agree that the values of today can't be compared with the
values from another era? Or do you think that what is right and wrong today still applies
to the actions of people in history?