Expansion Of Trail Of Tears Approved

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. House has approved a bill doubling the current Trail of Tears by adding about 1,500 miles.

The Trail of Tears is the route taken by Cherokee Indians in the 1820s and 1830s when they were forcibly removed from their homes in the East and sent to reservations on the Great Plains.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., now goes to the U.S. Senate.

One area added stretches from Fort Payne, Ala., and continues through Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Another route started at Charleston, Tenn., and went through Arkansas.