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Trail of Tears Timeline
The Trail of Tears was the forced removal of Native American nations from their homelands in the southeastern United States to territory west of the Mississippi River, resulting in the deaths of thousands.
Put the Events in Order
The events shuffled, to number from first to last. With answer key.
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For thousands of years, Native American nations including the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole had lived in the southeastern United States. When gold was discovered on Cherokee land in Georgia in 1829, white settlers and state governments intensified demands that Native peoples be removed. President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830, giving the federal government authority to force Native nations from their homelands. Despite a Supreme Court ruling in their favor, the Cherokee were rounded up by the US Army in 1838 and forced to march more than a thousand miles west in winter conditions. An estimated 4,000 to 8,000 Cherokee died on the journey they called Nunna daul Tsuny — the trail where they cried.
- ~1820s
Pressure to Remove Native Nations Grows
White settlers in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi demand the federal government remove Native American nations from valuable land; gold is discovered on Cherokee land in Georgia in 1829.
Why it mattered: The discovery of gold intensified demands for removal — state governments began passing laws stripping Native people of their rights and making life in the East impossible.
- 1830
Indian Removal Act
President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, letting the president trade land west of the Mississippi River for the lands of Native nations in the Southeast that agreed to move; nations that refused were later forced out.
Why it mattered: The Act gave legal cover to forced removal — Native nations could negotiate, but those who refused faced increasing state pressure and eventually military force.
- 1831
Choctaw Removal
The Choctaw Nation becomes the first to be removed under the Act; thousands march west in harsh winter conditions with little food or shelter.
Why it mattered: About 2,500 Choctaw people died during removal — an early and devastating warning of the suffering the policy would bring to other nations.
- 1832
Worcester v. Georgia
The Supreme Court rules that Georgia cannot enforce its laws on Cherokee land — the Cherokee Nation is a distinct community with the right to remain.
Why it mattered: President Jackson reportedly dismissed the ruling and did not enforce it. The decision showed that even a Supreme Court victory could not protect Native nations if the president refused to act.
- 1835
Treaty of New Echota
A small, unauthorized group of Cherokee leaders signs a treaty giving up Cherokee lands in exchange for territory in the West and $5 million.
Why it mattered: The treaty was rejected by the vast majority of the Cherokee Nation and its elected leadership — but the US government used it as legal justification for forced removal.
- 1836
Creek Removal
The Creek Nation is forcibly removed from Alabama under military supervision after resisting departure.
Why it mattered: Thousands of Creek people died during removal or in the years immediately after from disease, exposure, and starvation on the journey west.
- 1838
Cherokee Roundup
US Army soldiers round up approximately 16,000 Cherokee people and hold them in crowded stockade camps while awaiting removal.
Why it mattered: The roundup was brutal — families were separated, homes were burned and looted, and disease spread rapidly through the overcrowded camps.
- 1838–39
The Trail of Tears
The Cherokee are forced to march more than 1,000 miles to Indian Territory during the winter; an estimated 4,000 to 8,000 people die from cold, disease, and starvation.
Why it mattered: The Cherokee called it Nunna daul Tsuny — the trail where they cried. It became the defining symbol of the human cost of Indian Removal.
- 1839
Arrival in Indian Territory
Survivors reach present-day Oklahoma; the Cherokee Nation begins rebuilding schools, government, and communities in its new homeland.
Why it mattered: Despite devastating losses, the Cherokee rebuilt remarkable institutions — a newspaper, a constitution, and public schools — showing extraordinary resilience in the face of catastrophic loss.
- 1842
Seminole Resistance Ends
After seven years of the Second Seminole War — the most costly Indian war in US history — most remaining Seminole in Florida are either removed or driven deep into the Everglades.
Why it mattered: A small group of Seminole never surrendered and never signed a peace treaty — their descendants still live in Florida today.
Trail of Tears Quiz
Check what you learned — read on screen, or download the Quiz with Answer Key above for a worksheet version.
What was the Indian Removal Act of 1830?
- A) A law letting the president make treaties to move Native nations west of the Mississippi
- B) A law protecting Native nations in the Southeast from all state governments
- C) A law giving Native nations in the West new land in Georgia and Alabama
- D) A law making members of Native nations in the Southeast US citizens
What did the Supreme Court rule in Worcester v. Georgia in 1832?
- A) That Georgia could sell Cherokee land to gold miners
- B) That the Cherokee had to leave Georgia within the next two years
- C) That Georgia could not enforce its laws on Cherokee land
- D) That the Indian Removal Act violated the Constitution
Why was the Treaty of New Echota controversial?
- A) It was signed by Georgia state officials, not by the federal government
- B) It was signed years before the Indian Removal Act became law
- C) It was signed by the Creek Nation on behalf of the Cherokee
- D) It was signed by a small group, not the elected Cherokee leaders
What happened during the Cherokee roundup of 1838?
- A) US Army soldiers forced about 16,000 Cherokee into crowded camps
- B) US Army soldiers protected Cherokee farms from Georgia settlers
- C) Cherokee leaders gathered about 16,000 people to sign a new removal treaty
- D) The Supreme Court ordered army soldiers to stop the Cherokee removal
Approximately how many Cherokee died on the Trail of Tears?
- A) An estimated 100 to 300
- B) An estimated 20,000 to 30,000
- C) An estimated 4,000 to 8,000
- D) An estimated 50,000 to 60,000
What do the Cherokee call the Trail of Tears in their own language?
- A) Nunna daul Tsuny, the long walk in winter
- B) Nunna daul Tsuny, the trail where they cried
- C) Nunna daul Tsuny, the path away from home
- D) Nunna daul Tsuny, the road toward the sunset
Which president signed the Indian Removal Act?
- A) John Quincy Adams
- B) Andrew Jackson
- C) Martin Van Buren
- D) James Monroe
Which Native American nation was the first to be removed under the Indian Removal Act?
- A) The Creek
- B) The Seminole
- C) The Cherokee
- D) The Choctaw
Show answer key
1. A · 2. C · 3. D · 4. A · 5. C · 6. B · 7. B · 8. D
Teaching packThe Westward Expansion Teaching Pack, $7 — A two-week unit for grades 5 to 8: 39 lesson slides with guided notes, illustrated readings from 1787 to 1890, a How the United States Grew chart, the trails west, the Lewis and Clark route, a Fort Mandan decision, American Progress, the Indian Removal Act, a quiz and answer keys.See the pack
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How to print
Every sheet above is a ready-to-print PDF sized for US Letter paper (8.5 × 11"). The fill-in version keeps the dates and gives students lines to write each event, with the events listed at the bottom to place — good for review. The ordering activity and the quiz each end with an answer key.
Frequently asked questions
What was the Trail of Tears?
The Trail of Tears refers to the forced removal of five Native American nations — the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole — from their southeastern homelands to designated territory west of the Mississippi in the 1830s. The Cherokee removal of 1838-1839 is the most well known; an estimated 4,000 to 8,000 Cherokee died on the journey, which the Cherokee called Nunna daul Tsuny — the trail where they cried.
Why did Indian Removal happen?
The Indian Removal Act was driven largely by white settlers' desire for Native American land — especially after gold was discovered on Cherokee land in Georgia in 1829. President Andrew Jackson and Southern politicians argued that Native nations could not coexist with white settlers and must be moved west. Despite a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Cherokee, the federal government proceeded with forced removal.
What paper size should I print this on?
The timeline is sized for standard US Letter paper (8.5 × 11 in.). The Download PDF button gives you a print-ready file that fits the page automatically.