Relates the history of the forced relocation of the Cherokee from Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina to Indian territory in Oklahoma and the struggle by their principle chief, John Ross, to prevent their removal from their ancestral lands.

Historians Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green paint a portrait of the infamous Trail of Tears. Despite protests from statesmen like Davy Crockett, Daniel Webster, and Henry Clay, a dubious 1838 treaty drives 17,000 mostly Christian Cherokee from their lush Appalachian homeland to barren plains beyond the Mississippi. For 4,000, this brutal forced march leads only to their death.

Recounts how the Cherokees, after fighting to keep their land in the nineteenth century, were forced to leave and travel 1200 miles to a new settlement in Oklahoma, a terrible journey known as the Trail of Tears.

Documents the forced removal in 1838 of the Cherokee Nation from the southeastern United States to Oklahoma. Shows the suffering endured by the Cherokees as they lost their land and the difficult conditions they endured on the trail. Describes how thousands of Cherokees died during the Trail of Tears, nearly a quarter of the nation, including most of their children and elders.

"Native peoples of the United States have rich histories and traditions that help them maintain varied cultural identities in modern society. In the past, white Americans attempted to hide or eradicate these cultures, seeing Native Americans as an obstacle to prosperity. This distorted view eventually led to the deadly forced relocation known as the Trail of Tears. Primary sources and annotated quotes show readers the Trail of Tears from the perspective...

In the early nineteenth century, the United States was growing quickly, and many people wanted to set up homes and farms in new areas. For centuries, American Indian nations-including the Cherokee-had been living on the land that white settlers wanted. The US government often stepped in to resolve conflicts between the groups with treaties. Many of these treaties called upon American Indians to give up some of their territory. The conflicts continued...

"Provides comprehensive information on the forced removal of American Indians from their homes to the Oklahoma Territory and its legacy"--Provided by publisher.

"Even the name, "Trail of Tears," evokes the great sadness of the compulsory relocation of Native Americans in the 1830s. This accessible book tells the tragic account of what happened when the U.S. government forcibly removed native peoples from their homelands and resettled them thousands of miles away. Readers will learn why this occurred and its terrible consequences. Maps, historic images, and fact boxes shed more light on this devastating incident....