Indian Removal Act of 1830

•The law gave Jackson the ability to grant unsettled land west of the Mississippi River to Indian tribes in exchange for their homelands in the American South.•White settlers wanted to gain access to the land inhabited by Indians.•Example: Gold was discovered on Cherokee land in present day Georgia in 1828.

Trail of Tears

•The Creek, Cherokee, Seminole, Choctaw, and Chickasaw tribes were forced to relocate to new lands.•American troops were sent by President Jackson to force Indians from their homeland.•Tribes faced deadly diseases and starvation on the road to their new home.

Trail of Tears Map

Conditions faced by Indians• Harsh Winters• Example: The Indian tribes had very little warm clothing and as a

result hundreds died from the cold.• Deadly Diseases• Example: Thousands of Indians died from smallpox on the Trail of

Tears.• Starvation• Example: The U.S. government didn’t provide the tribes with

enough food to last the whole trip.• Violence• Example: American troops killed thousands of Indians for resisting

the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

Cherokee Trail of Tears• In 1838, 7,000 U.S.

troops were sent to forcibly remove Cherokee Indians from their land.

• 16,000 Cherokees were rounded up by U.S. troops.

• 4,000 tribe members died from starvation, violence, and disease on the Trail of Tears.