The Trail of Tears

Summary

The Trail of Tears refers to the forced relocation of approximately 60,000 Native Americans from their ancestral lands in the southeastern United States to designated Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River during the 1830s and 1840s. The removal was authorized by the Indian Removal Act of 1830, signed by President Andrew Jackson, despite Supreme Court rulings that recognized tribal sovereignty. The Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations—known as the Five Civilized Tribes—were compelled to march hundreds of miles under brutal conditions, with inadequate food, shelter, and medical care. An estimated 15,000 Native Americans died from exposure, disease, and starvation during the journey and in the holding camps.