Trail of Tears

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Movement of Native Americans after the U.S. Indian Removal Act

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Trail of Tears summary

Trail of Tears

Q: What was the Trail of Tears?

The Trail of Tears was the forced relocation during the 1830s of Indigenous peoples of the Southeast region of the United States (including the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole, among others) to the so-called Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

Q: What routes were used as part of the Trail of Tears?

The routes used by Indigenous people as part of the Trail of Tears consisted of several overland routes and one main water route that stretched some 5,045 miles (about 8,120 km) across portions of nine states.

Q: How many people died as a result of the Trail of Tears?

According to estimates based on tribal and military records, approximately 100,000 Indigenous people were forced from their homes during the Trail of Tears, and some 15,000 died during their relocation.

United States history

Written by Elizabeth Prine Pauls

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 4, 2024 • Article History

Trail of Tears

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Category: History & Society

Date:: c. 1830 - 1840

Location:: Indian Territory; United States

Participants:: Cherokee; Chickasaw; Choctaw; Creek; Southeast Indian; Eastern Woodlands Indians

Context:: Indian Removal Act; Seminole Wars; Proclamation of 1763

Key People:: Black Hawk; John Ross; Winfield Scott

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What was the Trail of Tears?

What routes were used as part of the Trail of Tears?

How many people died as a result of the Trail of Tears?

Trail of Tears, in U.S. history, the forced relocation during the 1830s of Eastern Woodlands Indians of the Southeast region of the United States (including Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole, among other nations) to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. Estimates based on tribal and military records suggest that approximately 100,000 indigenous people were forced from their homes during that period, which is sometimes known as the removal era, and that some 15,000 died during the journey west. The term Trail of Tears invokes the collective suffering those people experienced, although it is most commonly used in reference ...(100 of 1187 words)

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