This Day in History

May 23, 1838: The Trail of Tears Began

Time Periods: 1800

Themes: Democracy & Citizenship, Imperialism, Native American

On May 23, 1838, the forced removal of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Seminole, Chickasaw, Choctaw and other Native American nations officially began — a land theft, massacre, and attempted genocide known as the Trail of Tears. A petition was signed by close to every member of the Cherokee nation (16,000) in protest of the planned removal. This resounding, democratic voice was ignored.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Brown Stephens, a Cherokee woman who walked the Trail of Tears. Image Source: Lmaotru.

See the film segment of We Shall Remain and use the Cherokee/Seminole Removal Role Play to introduce students to the history outside of the textbook about the organized efforts to resist relocation and the horror of the internment and subsequent death marches.

Related Resources

Picture Books

Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom

Picture book. By Tim Tingle. 2008. 40 pages.
A picture book that highlights rarely discussed intersections between Native Americans in the South and African Americans in bondage.

This Day in History

March 26, 1839: End of The Trail of Tears

The Trail of Tears removed Cherokee Indians from their ancestral home in the Smoky Mountains to the Oklahoma Territory.

Teaching Activities (Free)

The Cherokee/Seminole Removal Role Play

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 10 pages.
What led up to the Trail of Tears? In this lesson, students learn about the decision to remove the Cherokee and Seminole people from their lands.

We Shall Remain (Film) | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Films

We Shall Remain: America Through Native Eyes

Film. PBS. 2009. 450 minutes.
Three hundred years of Native American history.

News

Teaching Outside the Textbook Across the Country

We are pleased to announce that 20 teachers from across the country are receiving class sets of A People’s History of the United States. These teachers’ names were selected from the 88 who responded when we asked for stories about teaching a people’s history or “teaching outside the textbook.” The essays were full of inspiring… Read more »

Books: Non-Fiction

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States

Book — Non-fiction. By Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. 2015. 312 pages.
Four hundred years of Native American history from a bottom-up perspective.

News

Check Your Curriculum: Are Native Americans in the Past Tense?

For Native American Heritage Month, we highly recommend the article “‘All Indians Are Dead?’ At Least That’s What Most Schools Teach Children,” based on a study called “Manifesting Destiny: Re/presentations of Indigenous Peoples in K–12 U.S. History Standards.” The article can inspire an examination of the curriculum and books in our schools.