Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears
- Date
- 1830–1839 (Indian Removal Act 28 May 1830; Cherokee Trail of Tears 1838–39)
- Category
- Social & demographic
- Region
- North America (Southeastern United States to Indian Territory)
- Era
- Modern
- Significance
Signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on 28 May 1830, the Indian Removal Act authorised the federal government to negotiate the exchange of Native American lands east of the Mississippi for territory in the west, opening the way for the forced relocation of the southeastern nations.
Over the following decade the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole were compelled from their homelands despite legal challenges, including the Cherokee victory in the Supreme Court case Worcester v. Georgia, which Jackson's administration ignored. The most infamous episode came in 1838–1839, when, following the fraudulent Treaty of New Echota, federal troops rounded up about 16,000 Cherokee, held them in detention camps and drove them roughly 1,000 miles west to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Thousands died of cold, disease, hunger and exhaustion along what became known as the Trail of Tears. The policy cleared millions of acres for white settlement and cotton agriculture while inflicting catastrophic loss on Native nations, and it stands as one of the most consequential acts of state-directed displacement in American history.
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Empires active in 1830–1839 (Indian Removal Act 28 May 1830; Cherokee Trail of Tears 1838–39)
- Russian Empire1721 CE – 1917 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Qing Dynasty1636 CE – 1912 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
Related social & demographic events
- The Great Irish Famine1845–1852
- Emancipation of the serfs in Russia3 March 1861 (19 February O.S.)
- Influenza pandemic of 1918–19201918–1920
- The Holocaust and the 'Final Solution'1941–1945
- Bengal Famine of 19431943–1944
- Britain's Factory Act regulates child labour1833
Further reading
The wider story
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
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