Between the years of 1790 and 1830 the population of Georgia grew at a dramatic pace. The population in 1830 was six times what it was just 40 years earlier. A large portion of this growth occurred after the discovery of gold in 1828. This rapid growth spelled disaster for the native Cherokee inhabitants of the region. The white settlers wanted access to the gold deposits on Cherokee land. In addition, Georgia was coming so greatly populated with whites there simply wasn’t enough room for both the whites and the Cherokee people (or so the government would like to think). Something had to give. In 1830, the Indian Removal Act was authorized by President Andrew Jackson. Soon after the Removal Act was passed removal forts were illegally built on Cherokee land. The Cherokee were then forced to these forts where they were to be held until they United States army forced them to walk 800 miles west to Indian Territory, which is present day Oklahoma. Secretary of the War Department George S. Gaines decided that the best way to move the Indians from the southeast was to relocate about one third of them per year in the years of 1831, 1832, and 1833. In addition to the Cherokee, the Seminoles, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Creeks were all removed from the Southeastern United States. They were forced to walk hundreds of miles in harsh winter conditions, usually with little more than a blanket to clothe themselves with. Lack of food and rest also contributed to high rate of death (about one in four died). Altogether approximately 18,000 Indians were removed, about 4,000 of them dying before arriving to Indian Territory.

sources:
http://ngeorgia.com/history/nghisttt.html
http://www.peaknet.net/~aardvark/thetrail.html
http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/trailtea.htm