Trail of Tears (Famous Painting)

Historical Context

It was US President Andrew Jackson's policy to removing Native Americans from their ancestral lands to make way for settlers and speculators that led to the infamous Trail of Tears in the 1830s.

The Cherokees of Georgia initially tried legal means to resist the policy and actually won their case in the US Supreme Court. However President Jackson refused to acknowledge the judgement and 20,000 were eventually marched west at gunpoint. A quarter of their number would perish on the journey.

Painting Info

Artist: Robert Lindneux
Location painted: Georgia, USA
Source: The Granger Collection, New York

Related Events

• 1825-01-27 US President James Monroe urges Congress to approve creation of Indian Territory, west of the Mississippi River, for the relocation of Eastern Indian tribes to 'promote their welfare and happiness"
• 1830-05-28 US President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, a key law leading to the forced removal of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes out of Georgia and surrounding states, setting the stage for the Cherokee Trail of Tears
• 1835-12-29 Treaty of New Echota is signed between the US government and representatives of a minority Cherokee political faction to cede all lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States
• 1839-09-06 Cherokee Nation unites and ratifies constitution at Tahlequah, Oklahoma

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