In 1838, the Cherokee of the American southeast, one of the Five Civilized Tribes, were forced out of their farms and towns and relocated eight hundred miles to the west, in Indian Territory. A caravan of about 16,000 people set off across the rough roads and forests of the Midwest. In the snows of winter, many died. The journey became known as The Trail of Tears. Broadcaster Philip Coulter retraces the trail, asking questions about how the past shapes our present, and what it means to be a nation.

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