Journey West: Forced Removal of the Cherokee

Journey West: Forced Removal of the Cherokee. 1823 Nashville Toll Bridge. At this place, the Cherokee crossed the Cumberland River on the Nashville Toll Bridge during the forced march west from their homelands in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Nashvillians in the busy public square looked on as thousands of Cherokee passed through the city between October 16 and December 4, 1838, along the Northern Route of the Trail of Tears., Due to poor conditions, many Cherokee died from disease in the relocation camps and more perished during the arduous journey. After arriving in Indian Territory, hundreds were lost from malnutrition, sickness, and exposure. Approximately 4,000 out of 15,000 Cherokee died due to removal. Those who survived the journey successfully rebuilt their homes, lives, and cultural traditions despite the lasting impacts of removal.,

The Last of the Cherokees , The last detachments of the Cherokee Indians passed through this place on Sunday. They were in number about eighteen hundred. It is apprehended that they will suffer intensely from the cold; ere they reach their new homes, particularly if they prosecute their journey by land during the winter. -Republican Banner, December 4, 1838

, Federal Indian Removal Policy , The federal government passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830. It authorized the president to grant Indian tribes unsettled lands west of the Mississippi River for the homelands they were forced to abandon in the east. Ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1836, but signed by unauthorized Cherokee representatives, the Treaty of New Echota required the Cherokee to relocate to the western Indian Territory in two years. By May 1838, only 2,000 Cherokee had emigrated, so 7,000 federal and state troops were deployed to round up the remaining Cherokee. Some fled into the mountains of western North Carolina , those who could not, endured the forced removal that became known as the Trail of Tears.