Trail of Tears summary

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Trail of Tears, Forced migration in the United States of the Northeast and Southeast Indians during the 1830s. The discovery of gold on Cherokee land in Georgia (1828–29) catalyzed political efforts to divest all Indians east of the Mississippi River of their property. The Indian Removal Act (1830) authorized the U.S. president to negotiate with tribes for land cessions and removal to western territories. Many native people were forced from their homes, and most undertook the westward journey under severe duress. Some 15,000 died of exposure and disease on the journey, which became known as the Trail of Tears. Although the Trail of Tears is most closely associated with the Cherokee specifically and the Southeast tribes more generally, perhaps one-third to one-half of the 100,000 people removed were Northeast Indians.

Seminoles wearing traditional clothing, c. 1926.

Seminole Summary

Seminole, North American Indian tribe of Creek origin who speak a Muskogean language. In the last half of the 18th century, migrants from the Creek towns of southern Georgia moved into northern Florida, the former territory of the Apalachee and Timucua. By about 1775 those migrants had begun to be

United States Summary

United States, country in North America, a federal republic of 50 states. Besides the 48 conterminous states that occupy the middle latitudes of the continent, the United States includes the state of Alaska, at the northwestern extreme of North America, and the island state of Hawaii, in the

human migration Summary

Human migration, the permanent change of residence by an individual or group; it excludes such movements as nomadism, migrant labour, commuting, and tourism, all of which are transitory in nature. A brief treatment of human migration follows. For further discussion, see population: Migration.

Cherokee Summary

Cherokee, North American Indians of Iroquoian lineage who constituted one of the largest politically integrated tribes at the time of European colonization of the Americas. Their name is derived from a Creek word meaning “people of different speech”; many prefer to be known as Keetoowah or Tsalagi.