What is the term for the forced removal of Native Americans from their lands during the 19th century?

The term referring to the forced removal of Native Americans from their lands during the 19th century is known as the Indian Removal Act. This legislation, enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1830, was aimed specifically at relocating various Native American tribes from their ancestral homelands in the southeastern United States to designated territory west of the Mississippi River, primarily in present-day Oklahoma.

The Indian Removal Act facilitated this forced displacement through various means, including treaties often signed under duress and military action. One of the most infamous outcomes of this act was the Trail of Tears, which resulted in the suffering and death of thousands of Native Americans during their migration to the new territories.

While concepts like Manifest Destiny reflect the broader ideological motivations behind the westward expansion of the United States, they do not specifically describe the legislation or the events associated with the removal of Native Americans. Colonial Expansion refers to a more general process of European settlement and control over vast territories, while Emancipation relates primarily to the liberation of enslaved African Americans and does not pertain to Native American removal. Thus, the Indian Removal Act is the precise term used to denote this tragic period in American history.