The Trail of Tears

After years of pressure from white settlers who urged the government takeover of Native American land, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830. Prior to that time, the Cherokee had developed a strong agricultural economy and political system in the American Southeast; moreover, they were determined to keep their land. In 1827 the Cherokee Nation formulated its own constitution, which called for total jurisdiction over its own territory

However, Congress soon determined that Native Americans had only temporary rights to the property. As a result, eight years later they were forced to evacuate their homes in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennessee and travel 800 miles along the Tennessee, Ohio, Mississippi, and Arkansas Rivers to reservations west of the Red River. The arduous journey, which came to be known as "The Trail of Tears," started in March 1838 and took one year to complete. En route approximately...