Guide Note:

The "Trail of Tears" is the name given to the forced relocation from Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee to Oklahoma of 17,000 Cherokee men, women, and children by the U.S. Government in the late 1830s. After being forced from their ancestral lands at gunpoint, the Cherokee were herded into camps and prisons, and then marched over 2,000 miles to reservations across the Mississipi River in arid Oklahoma.

Fast Facts:

Tribes relocated: Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Chickasaw, Creek
Began: 1838
Removal policy began under Andrew Jackson; Trail began under Martin van Buren
Casualties: 4,000+ men, women, children
Causes of death: Starvation, disease

Background

The United States government had been discussing the possibility of removing Native Americans from their ancestral lands in the southeast since the early 19th century. In the early 1830s, Georgia began enacting laws meant to confiscate lands from Cherokee Indians and prevent the Cherokee from becoming citizens. In 1835, a small group of Cherokee signed the Treaty of New Echota, giving the United States the right to confiscate Cherokee lands in return for new lands, provisions, and other benefits in Oklahoma. Most Cherokee did not approve of the treaty, and all of those Cherokee who supported the signing of the Treaty were later assassinated. In 1838, the U.S. Army began forcibly removing those Cherokee who had refused to give up their ancestral lands and began putting them in detention facilities. Many were subsequently herded onto boats or forced to march over 2,000 miles to their new "home" in arid eastern Oklahoma. Over 4,000 men, women, and children died of starvation or disease either in the camps or on the trek west.

Categories

History | U.S. History | Native American History

View Note History

Trail of Tears

The Mahalo Top 7

Wikipedia: Trail of Tears
Power Source: Trail Of tears
National Park Service: Trail of Tears
George State Parks: Echota Historic Site
North Carolina Office of Archeology: Trail of Tears
Cherokee Nation: A Brief History of the Trail of Tears
Official Site: Trail of Tears Association

Trail Of Tears Background and Causes

PBS Resource Bank: Indian Removal
Cherokee, North Carolina: Trail of Tears History
National Park Service: Setting the Stage for Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears Association: The Story

Trail Of Tears Central Figures

Mahalo's Guide to Andrew Jackson
John Ross: Wikipedia
Winfield Scott: Wikipedia
Lewis Cass: Wikipedia

Trail Of Tears Documents, Editorials and Personal Stories

Cerritos University: Editorials about The Trail of Tears
Cerritos University: Lewis Cass' Removal of the Indians
Oklahoma University: Treaty with the Cherokee, 1835
University of Georgia: General Winfield Scott's Address to the Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation: John Burnett's Story of the Trail of Tears

Trail Of Tears Images and Videos

Google Image Search: Trail of Tears
Yahoo! Image Search: Trail of Tears
YouTube: My Trail of Tears (Time: 9:08)
YouTube: Trail of Tears: The Cherokee Legacy (Time: 7:09)

Trail Of Tears Articles, Blogs and Message Boards

Google Blog Search: Trail of Tears
Roots Web: Trail of Tears Board
Live Science: Trail of Tears to be Recreated in Arkansas

Trail Of Tears Timeline

Trail of Tears -- 1838
February: 15,665 people of the Cherokee Nation petition congress protesting the Treaty of New Echota
March: Outraged American citizens throughout the country petition congress on behalf of the Cherokee
April: Congress tables petitions protesting Cherokee removal; Federal troops ordered to prepare for roundup
May: Cherokee roundup begins
June: First group of Cherokees driven west under Federal guard
July: Over 13,000 Cherokees imprisoned in military stockades awaiting break in drought
September: Drought breaks -- Cherokee prepare to embark on forced exodus to Indian Territory in Oklahoma
October: For most Cherokee, the "Trail of Tears" begins
November: Thirteen contingents of Cherokee cross Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois

Trail of Tears -- 1839
January: First overland contingents arrives at Fort Gibson
March: Last group reaches Oklahoma

Trail Of Books and DVDs

Amazon.com: Trail of Tears Books and DVDs
Google Book Search: Trail of Tears
Questia Search: Trail of Tears

Related Searches

Native American | Indians | Indian Wars | Andrew Jackson | Cherokee | John Ross | Winfield Scott | Lewis Scott | Potawatomi Tribe

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