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The Trail of Tears was a series of forced Indian removals by the United States government during, but the removal of the Cherokee nation from Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama is the most famous of these forced marches. While the Cherokee removal is the relocation that is most often associated with the Trail of Tears, but it was not the only one. The Seminoles (1832), the Choctaw (1830), the Chickasaw (1832), the Creek (1832), the Fox (1832), the Sauk and the Cherokee (1835) were all removed from their ancestral lands. Each of these removals resulted an appalling loss of life. ====US Treaties with Native Americans====The U.S. Government used treaties as one means to displace Indians from their tribal lands, a mechanism that was strengthened with the Removal Act of 1830. In cases where this failed, the government sometimes violated both treaties and Supreme Court rulings to facilitate the spread of European Americans westward across the continent. As the 19th century began, land-hungry Americans poured into the backcountry of the coastal South and began moving toward and into what would later become the states of Alabama and Mississippi. Since Indian tribes living there appeared to be the main obstacle to westward expansion, white settlers petitioned the federal government to remove them. Although Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe argued that the Indian tribes in the Southeast should exchange their land for lands west of the Mississippi River, they did not take steps to make this happen. Indeed, the first major transfer of land occurred only as the result of war. ====Native Americans faced increasing pressure from Western Expansion====In 1814, Major General Andrew Jackson led an expedition against the Creek Indians climaxing in the Battle of Horse Shoe Bend (in present day Alabama near the Georgia border), where Jackson’s force soundly defeated the Creeks and destroyed their military power. He then forced upon the Indians a treaty whereby they surrendered to the United States over twenty-million acres of their traditional land—about one-half of present day Alabama and one-fifth of Georgia. Over the next decade, Jackson led the way in the Indian removal campaign, helping to negotiate nine of the eleven major treaties to remove Indians. Under this kind of pressure, Native American tribes—specifically the Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw—realized that they could not defeat the Americans in war. The appetite of the settlers for land would not abate, so the Indians adopted a strategy of appeasement. They hoped that if they gave up a good deal of their land, they could keep at least some a part of it. The Seminole tribe in Florida resisted, in the Second Seminole War (1835–1842) and the Third Seminole War (1855–1858), however, neither appeasement nor resistance worked. From a legal standpoint, the United States Constitution empowered Congress to “regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes.” In early treaties negotiated between the federal government and the Indian tribes, the latter typically acknowledged themselves “to be under the protection of the United States of America, and of no other sovereign whosoever.” When Andrew Jackson became president (1829–1837), he decided to build a systematic approach to Indian removal on the basis of these legal precedents.

 While there In general terms, Jackson’s government succeeded. By the end of his presidency, he had signed into law almost seventy removal treaties, the result of which was some public opposition to Indian Removalmove nearly 50, - Jackson ensured that Congress passed bills that removed 000 eastern Indians and gave Jackson to Indian Territory—defined as the ability region belonging to set aside Western landsJackson believed that removal was “just and humane” because it would leave the Indians free from influence United States west of the Mississippi River but excluding the statesJackson saw anti-removal movement of Missouri and Iowa as well as hypocritical considering the treatment Territory of Indians in the NorthCompared to Clay and others - Jackson was more humane regardingJackson was not a simple Indian hater, but he also did not believe that they should be assimilated like JeffersonJackson also believed that Indians were inferior and reinforced notions Arkansas—and open millions of racial supremacyJackson did little to compensate Indians for lost lands or homes (typically only received 10% to 20% acres of their value)Jackson provided woefully insufficient funds to ensure a safe relocation - while Trail rich land east of Tears occurred after his administration he set the policies in motion Jackson was also outraged by the claim by the Cherokees that they were a sovereign nation - unconstitutional and unrealisticHe believed that no new state could be created in the jurisdiction of a state ====Opposition Mississippi to Indian Removal====Triggered white settlers. Despite the creation vastness of a reform movement - Catherine Beecher (later Stowe) started a the largest petition movement at Indian Territory, the government intended that time.“The William Penn Essays” was the Indians’ destination would be a anti-removal Treatise and more confined area—what later became extremely well-known.Martin Van Buren was surprised by the level of opposition.Anti-removal reform movement led many activists to abolitionismeastern Oklahoma.

The Cherokee Nation resisted, however, challenging in court the Georgia laws that restricted their freedoms on tribal lands. In his 1831 ruling on Cherokee Nation v. the State of Georgia, Chief Justice John Marshall found declared that the court lacked jurisdiction “the Indian territory is admitted to hear compose a part of the case because United States,” and affirmed that the Cherokee nation was a tribes were “domestic, dependent nation.”Cherokee Nation was not sovereign authority under Article 3 of Constitution nations” and were wards “their relation to the United States resembles that of the federal governmentIn Worcester va ward to his guardian. Georgia” However, Marshall somewhat challenged his own ruling from a the following year before the Supreme Court reversed itself and held ruled that Indian tribes were indeed sovereign and immune from Georgia laws violated . President Jackson nonetheless refused to heed the Court’s decision. He obtained the signature of a Cherokee treaties, commerce clausechief agreeing to relocation in the Treaty of New Echota, which Congress ratified against the protests of Daniel Webster and sovereign authority Henry Clay in 1835. The Cherokee signing party represented only a faction of the Cherokee nation. Georgia had created , and the majority followed Principal Chief John Ross in a law that required whites on Cherokee lands desperate attempt to register with state authoritiesSeven missionaries were arrested for being hold onto their land. This attempt faltered in Cherokee lands 1838, when, under the guns of federal troops and sentenced to 4 years hard labor Marshall created a mess with his two contradictory rulings.Did not require Georgia state militia, the law to be enforcedBest described as an effort by Marshall Cherokee tribe were forced to avoid staining his legacy without creating a direct conflict with the Executive BranchJackson refused to accept dry plains across the Worcester ruling and essentially ignored itMississippi. Became moot when Marshall died and he was replaced by Jackson ally and pro-removal Roger TaneyMissionaries were freed after a few months

====Early Cherokee Removaland the Trail of Tears====Cherokees had split on the issue of removal. Some members of the tribe left early and cherry-picked some of the best lands in Oklahoma while others resisted forced removal. Chief John Ross supported passive resistance, but it accomplished little. Martin Van Buren organized the removal of 18,000 Native Americans between 1838 and 1839. Anyone who resisted removal was imprisoned and then forcibly removed. Due to the lack of preparation and funding by the United States government, 4,000 Cherokees died from exposure, starvation, and disease on their way to Oklahoma. The Cherokees named this forced march "the trail on which we cried," aka the Trail of Tears.

Most The Trail of Tears is one of the southern tribes gave up and moved west.Seminoles and fugitive slaves who lived with them - resisted the move.Started the Second Seminole War (1835-1842)most devastating disasters in American history.Approximately 3,000 More people (evenly split between Seminoles and US troops were killed).3,000 Seminoles forced to move west - a small group remained in Florida. ====Cherokee Removal and died on the Trail of Tears====Cherokees split than from the Japanese attack on the issue of removal.Some members of the tribe left early and cherry picked some of the best lands in OklahomaChief John Ross supported passive resistanceMartin Van Buren forcibly imprisoned and then removed 18,000 CherokeesIn 1838-39Pearl Harbor, the 189/11,000 Cherokees were herded west and 4Hurricane Katrina,000 died on or the wayThe Federal government never adequately funded removalPeople starved and died of disease on the way west1906 San Francisco fire.

The Cherokees were removed With the exception of a small number of Seminoles still resisting removal in 1835 despite a Supreme Court decisionFlorida, <i>Worchester v. Georgia</i>by the 1840s, that found that Cherokee was a sovereign nation that had rights under existing treaties. Forcibly removing from the Cherokees violated these treaties. Andrew Jackson ignored Atlantic to the courts rulings and pushed with Mississippi, no Indian removal. Ultimately, over 4,000 Cherokees were killed during their march westtribes resided in the American South. In Through a history full combination of civil rights violations - Indian Removal was one coerced treaties and the contravention of treaties and judicial determination, the most egregiousIndians were removed simply because states wanted to take over productive farming operations created by Indians, especially GeorgiaNumbers United States Government succeeded in paving the way for the westward expansion and the incorporation of Indians east new territories as part of the Mississippi was minimal after removalUnited States.