In the 1830s, the Andrew Jackson administration forced the Cherokee Nation of Georgia to give up their ancestral land and resettle at present-day Oklahoma. At the time a few people in America seemed to care about their plight, because popular opinion in the 1830s was that Indians were uncivilized and savage. Cherokee people had appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, and Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the removal of Cherokee people from their ancestral land was unjust. Yet President Jackson persisted and carried out his plan. Thus thousands of Cherokee people were forced to go to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears.

On a peaceful morning, the Cherokee people were startled to see the white soldiers coming into their houses and forcing them to leave. They were not allowed to take much of their belongings, and were hurried to leave. Since it was a spring, the temperature was very low, but many Cherokee people didn't carry their blankets with them. So on the Trail of Tears thousands of Cherokee people died of sickness and malnutrition. The white soldiers always forced them to go, even when the road was frozen and the Indians were exhausted. Many Cherokee people, including women and children, have to walk constantly while the mounted soldiers shouted at them to continue. Cherokee people buried their dead in shallow graves because the soil was frozen. The white people would often stare at the Cherokee people only because of their race. After thousands of miles of march, the Cherokee people finally arrived at Oklahoma, where they have to cope with the new environment and other hostile Indian tribes.

The Trail of Tears is an American tragedy. People could remember the Trail of Tears, yet millions of Native Americans who had lived on this land were wiped out without a trace. Many Native people were killed simply because of their race and skin color. The Trail is gone, yet tears are still there. Let there be no prejudice and hatred, but love, harmony, and liberty.