USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Cherokee people called this journey the “Trail of Tears, ” because of its devastating effects. The migrants faced hunger, disease, and exhaustion on the forced march. Over 4, 000 out of 15, 000 of the Cherokees died. This picture, The Trail of Tears, was painted by Robert Lindneux in 1942.

Detailed explanation-2: -The removal of the Cherokees was a product of the demand for arable land during the rampant growth of cotton agriculture in the Southeast, the discovery of gold on Cherokee land, and the racial prejudice that many white southerners harbored toward American Indians.

Detailed explanation-3: -President Martin Van Buren sent General Winfield Scott and 7, 000 soldiers to expedite the removal process. Scott and his troops forced the Cherokee into stockades at bayonet point while his men looted their homes and belongings. Then, they marched the Indians more than 1, 200 miles to Indian Territory.