The Trail of Tears refers to a series of forced relocations of Native American tribes that took place in the United States in the 1830s. The event was a result of the Indian Removal Act signed into law by President Andrew Jackson in 1830. As a result, thousands of Native Americans, mostly from the Cherokee, Muscogee Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations, were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands in the southeastern United States and relocated to designated Indian Territory, which is present-day Oklahoma. The forced march resulted in the death of thousands of Native Americans due to harsh conditions, disease, and lack of resources, hence earning the name "Trail of Tears." It was a tragic episode in American history, representing the federal government's policies of removing indigenous people from their lands to open up territory for white settlers.
