Description
This class will examine the Indian Removal Policy of the 1830s, promoted by President Andrew Jackson to force Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to give up their homelands and move to lands in present-day Oklahoma. Although this government land grab was pitched as “voluntary,” most tribes were pressured or forced to leave, often through broken treaties, vigilante violence, and military force. The tragic result was the Trail of Tears (1838–1839), forcing thousands of Cherokee and other Native Americans to trudge west under brutal conditions, leading to widespread suffering and death. We’ll also profile the verdant state park that commemorates this cruel human path that cut through the heart of Missouri.
