Trail Of Tears: Indian Removal Of Native Americans

The Trail of Tears was the name given to the forced removal of Native Americans from their homes in the Southeastern United States. The Trail of Tears removed families, as well as tribes, from their homelands that some had been inhabiting for generations, tearing apart Indian culture and trust between traditional Native Americans and Americans. The forced removals affected the Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations and were carried out by various government authorities following the passing of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. The Indian Removal Act was signed and enforced by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. The act authorized the president to grant unsettled lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. A few tribes went peacefully, but many resisted the policy that called for relocation. The relocated people suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation while en route, and more than four thousand died before reaching their various destinations.
The tragedy of this Indian loss is that the removal of the Cherokee people was brought on by the the discovery of gold near Dahlonega, Georgia in 1828, which later resulted in the California Gold Rush which began in 1848. The Trail of Tears was a terrible loss of Native American culture and people. The Trail of Tears is a story about injustice and suffering, but also