This volume opens in 1838 with the troubling story of soldiers arriving at the homes of Cherokee people in the Southeast and forcing them to walk first to inadequate holding areas and then 800 miles westward. Journeying in late fall and winter with meager clothing and supplies, many died of disease, exposure, and exhaustion along the Trail of Tears. The book then backs up 200 years to trace the history of European-American encroachment on the five affected tribes in the Southeast, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole, giving special attention to the actions and influence of Andrew Jackson. The book organizes a good deal of historical information into a cogent presentation of the events and issues leading to the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which eventually forced thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral lands.
