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Trail of Tears FactsThis page provides a fast overview of the key dates and events that culminated in the forced march called the Trail of Tears.Trail of Tears FactsFact 01: The Trail of Tears was approximately 1000 milesFact 02: The Five Civilised Tribes were were forced to travel from their homelands in the Deep South to reservations in present day OklahomaFact 03: The names of the Five Civilised Tribes were the Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Chickasaw and CreekFact 04: The journeys of the Five Civilised Tribes along the Trail of Tears started in 1831The Choctaw tribe were removed in 1831The Seminole tribe were removed in 1832The Creek tribe were removed in 1834The Chickasaw tribe were removed in 1837The Cherokee tribe were removed in 1838Fact 05: Of the 16,000 Choctaw Indians who journeyed across the Trail of Tears between 5000 and 6,000 died en routeFact 06: The Five Civilised Tribes were so-called because they adopted the various cultural and political features of the Europeans including farming methods, clothing, houses and many converted to Christianity.Fact 07: Wealthy members of the Five Civilised Tribes had black slaves who worked on their cotton plantationsFact 08: The Five Civilised Tribes had a written constitution, a judiciary system and a public school systemFact 09: The end of the American Civil War (1861–1865) saw the fall of the tribes and the treaties of the tribes who had supported the Confederacy were brokenFact 10: President Andrew Jackson was instrumental in the events leading up to the Trail of Tears, his policies involved the ethnic cleansing of several Indian tribesFact 11: Many white settlers advocated the total extermination of the "savages."Fact 12: Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830 which reversed the U.S. policy of respecting the rights of Native American IndiansFact 13: The Indian Removal Act started the removal of the tribes via the Trail of Tears from their homelands in the Deep South to Indian reservations in Oklahoma.Fact 14: The Treaty of New Echota in 1835 ceded all Cherokee land to the United States for $5.6 millionFact 15: 17,000 Cherokees were forced off their land in 1838 and had to undertake the long journey across the Trail of TearsFact 16: General Winfield Scott led the forced removal of the Indians to start their journey on the Trail of Tears. Their homelands were won by white settlers in a lottery.Fact 17: U.S. soldiers did not allow the Indians to take extra clothing, food or blankets for their journey on the Trail of TearsFact 18: The Cherokees were organized into separate groups of about 1,000 people for the journey on the Trail of TearsFact 19: The Cherokees were allowed 600 wagons and carts, 5,000 horses and just over 100 oxen for their journey across the Trail of TearsFact 20: Not all of the Indians walked the whole of the Trail of tears. Some had horses and wagons, and some were were transported part of the way by bargesFact 21: The Cherokee Trail of Tears led to exposure in freezing cold weather conditions with inadequate clothing. They suffered from malnutrition, starvation and diseaseFact 22: The fatal diseases that killed so many of the Native Indians included Smallpox, Malaria, Measles, Cholera and PneumoniaFact 23: Nearly 4000 Cherokees died on the Trail of Tears from malnutrition, exposure, and disease.Fact 24: The Cherokee tribe refer to the Trail of Tears as 'Nunna daul Isunyi' which means “The Trail Where They Cried”