May 23, 1838
U.S. General Winfield Scott began the forced removal of the Cherokee Indians from North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, implementing a treaty signed by a few members of the tribe relinquishing their lands for a payment of $5 million, under orders from President Martin Van Buren. 16,000 Cherokee were then driven on foot to “Indian Territory,” now Oklahoma. Of those who set out on the forced march known as the “The Trail of Tears,” nearly one-quarter died along the way or as a result of the relocation.
