Have you ever thought about the scope of federal authority and the power it wields? What federal authority does seems to be limitless, and one example is the Trail of Tears. Federal authority forced Native Americans to leave their homelands to search for gold, because of this act many Native Americans died. The Trail of Tears was one of the most tragic events in American history due to the Removal Act of 1830, the power of federal authority, the suffering of many Native Americans, and the deaths of countless Native Americans. To begin with, the beginning of the trail Tears began with the Removal Act of 1830. The Removal Act of 1830 was a document that stated that all Native Americans had to leave the east and go to the reservations of the 'west. Shefty's Trail of Tears implies that "about 500 Cherokees, including none elected from the Cherokee Nation, gathered at New Eohcta, Georgia, and signed a treaty ceding all Cherokee territory east of the Mississippi to the United States in exchange for $5 million. and a new homeland in Indian Territory (Shefty 177). The Removal Act made the Trail of Tears tragic because it forced many Native Americans to make a 2,200-mile-long westward journey. The Feds gave $5 million to the Native Americans, but it didn't help them at all on the Trail of Tears. Tears. The act of referral took place because of the power available to the federal authority. Second, the capacity of federal authority has no limit. Federal authority forced many Native Americans to leave their homes simply to search for gold. The power of the Federal Authority allowed it to do whatever it wanted. Benson, Sonia, Brannen, Daniel and Valentine, Rebeca said: "As 1837 approached, the president...... middle of paper ....... 1043-1045. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Internet. March 25, 2014. “Native Americans and Removal.” » American times. Flight. 6: Westward expansion, 1800-1860. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 186-189. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Internet. March 25, 2014. Sherfy, Michael. “The Trail of Tears”. Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Flight. 8. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 177. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Internet. March 25, 2014. “Trail of Tears.” Gale Encyclopedia of United States Economic History. Ed. Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk. Flight. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2000. 1012-1014. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Internet. March 25, 2014. “Trail of Tears,” UXL Encopedia of US History. Sonia Benson, Danial E. Brannen Jr. and Rebeca Valentine, Vol.8. detriot. UXL,2009,1569-1571 Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web March 5. 2014.