The federal government under President Andrew Jackson pursued a vigorous policy of Indian removal in the 1830s, forcibly moving tribes west to land known as Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). In 1838, as many as a quarter of the Cherokee Indians died on the route known as the Trail of Tears.

READING THE MAP From which states were most of the Native Americans removed? Through which states did the Trail of Tears go?

CONNECTIONS Before Jackson’s presidency, how did the federal government view Native Americans, and what policy initiatives were undertaken by the government and private groups? How did Jackson change the government’s policy toward Native Americans?