The Trail of Tears occurred between 1831 and 1939 in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida (Vann). A variety of Native Americans were part of this terrible episode in Native American history and the Cherokee were one of them. In the Trail of Tears event, many Cherokee families of men, women, and children died after being exposed to traumatic events such as starvation and fever. The federal government had ordered Native American tribes to leave their lands and move to other lands (Vann). They were driven from their lands by horrible politicians and military officers. As a result, many Cherokee Indians and their families lost their lives and were unable to reach their destinations. The reason the government ordered many Native American groups to abandon the lands they already owned was because the settlers were asking for more land and the Cherokee Indians did not want to give up the land they had occupied and built on their entire lives ( Vann ). The whole event called the Trail of Tears proved this