Trail of Tears

The Trail of Tears was the forced removal of Cherokee and other Indigenous peoples from the southeastern United States to western territories, chiefly during the 1830s. It caused widespread death through exposure, disease, and hunger.

Indian Removal Act: An 1830 United States law authorizing the president to negotiate land-exchange treaties with Indigenous nations east of the Mississippi River. It gave the federal government statutory authority to pursue the removals.
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia: An 1831 Supreme Court case that described the Cherokee Nation as a domestic dependent nation and dismissed its suit for lack of original jurisdiction. The decision limited the Cherokee Nation's route to federal judicial protection.
John Ross: A Cherokee political leader who opposed the Treaty of New Echota and led the Cherokee Nation during removal. He challenged the treaty's legitimacy and later helped guide the displaced Cherokee.
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians: A federally recognized Cherokee tribe whose ancestors remained in the southeastern United States during removal. Their survival in the homeland shows that not all Cherokee were deported west.
Cherokee removal: The forced expulsion of most Cherokee people from their southeastern homeland to Indian Territory in 1838–1839. This is the episode most commonly associated with the Trail of Tears.
Treaty of New Echota: A 1835 treaty between the United States and a minority Cherokee faction that ceded Cherokee lands in the Southeast. The United States used this disputed treaty to justify Cherokee removal.
Winfield Scott: A United States Army general who supervised the forced removal of the Cherokee in 1838. He directed the military roundup and movement of Cherokee people.
Major Ridge: A Cherokee leader who supported the Treaty of New Echota, believing removal was unavoidable. His faction signed the treaty that federal officials invoked to enforce removal.
Cherokee Nation: A federally recognized Indigenous nation with a government and citizenship rooted in Cherokee peoplehood and sovereignty. The forced migration transformed its political life and geographic center.
Choctaw removal: The forced migration of Choctaw people from Mississippi to Indian Territory under treaties beginning in 1830. It preceded the Cherokee removal and involved severe hardship and death.

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