Granted, the Trail of Tears would hardly seem a laughing matter. To the contrary, as recounted by History.com, it was an ordeal of robbery, mass relocation and death growing out of what white Americans of the 19th century saw as their “Indian problem.” By which they meant that American Indians held lands in the southeast United States — including parts of North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida — that white people coveted.
They tried various schemes to get it. They tried "civilizing" the Indians — requiring them to learn English, accept European concepts of property rights, convert to Christianity.