Indian Removal Act and Trail of Tears
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Last updated 4 months ago
16 Nsɛmmisa
The Trail of Tears is a phrase used to describe the forced migration of more than 100,000 Native American people throughout the 1830s. It most commonly refers to the removal of the Cherokee in 1838–1839, moving them from their homeland in the southeastern United States to the Indian Territory. The Indian Territory is now the state of Oklahoma, but at the time, the United States government had reserved it for Native Americans.
In the 1830s and 1840s, members of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Creek Indians lived in the southeastern part of the country. Many white people, though, wanted them to move farther west so that whites could settle in the Southeast. President Andrew Jackson supported this policy and signed a federal law in 1830 called the Indian Removal Act. This law said that Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River had to move west of that river. The law said that the Native Americans would be paid for this land but did not give them the choice of staying in that region. No payments were ever issued.
Throughout the 1830s federal troops forced many members of these nations to move to Indian Territory. From 1838 to 1839 troops forced thousands of Cherokee to walk 116 miles from their homelands to the Indian Territory. They faced cold weather and disease. Conditions were so bad that about one-fourth of all the Native American people who made the journey died along the way. Because the journey caused such heartache for the Cherokee, it became known as the Trail of Tears.
The Indian Removal Act was a federal law that President Andrew Jackson promoted. Congress passed the law in 1830. Because Congress wanted to make more land in the Southeast available to white settlers, the law required Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River to move west of it. The law stated that Native Americans would be paid for this land, but it did not give them the choice of staying in that region. Members of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Creek tribes lived in the Southeast at this time and tried to fight the law. They did not succeed, however. Throughout the 1830s federal troops forced many members of these nations to move to the newly created Indian Territory, which later became Oklahoma. From 1838 to 1839, troops forced thousands of Cherokee and other Eastern Woodland Native Americans to walk hundreds of miles from their homelands to the Indian Territory. Conditions were so bad that about one-fourth of those who made the journey died. This forced journey became known as the Trail of Tears.
Which President was in favor of the Indian Removal Act?
In what year was the Indian Removal Act passed?
This law was passed because Congress wanted to make more land available to who?
This law required Native Americans to move
The law stated that the Natives would be paid for this land.
The Natives had a choice of whether to accept this payment and move or to stay where they were.
Who forced members of these Native tribes to move to the Indian Territory?
The Indian Territory was the land that is today the state of
How many miles were the Natives forced to walk to the Indian Territory?
About how many of those that made the journey died?
The migration of the Native people was:
According to the article, how many Natives were forced to migrate?
Where were the Natives living before being forced westward?
How much were the Natives paid for the land that was taken from them?
Name two things that the article mentions as causing the death of the Natives on the trip west.
The article mentions a few tribes but says that the Trail of Tears mostly refers to the journey of what tribe?