What are the positives of the Trail of Tears?

There were not good things that came from the Trail of Tears, especially for those who had to march to Oklahoma.  The Indian Removal Act that brought on the removal of the Five Civilized Tribes from the Southeast to Oklahoma killed up to one third of the native people who went.  If there was any "pro" to the act, I would say that it strengthened the executive branch.  Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act...

There were not good things that came from the Trail of Tears, especially for those who had to march to Oklahoma.  The Indian Removal Act that brought on the removal of the Five Civilized Tribes from the Southeast to Oklahoma killed up to one third of the native people who went.  If there was any "pro" to the act, I would say that it strengthened the executive branch.  Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law but there was a legal challenge that went all the way to the Supreme Court, Worcester v. Georgia.  In this case, John Marshall ruled in favor of the Cherokee.  The treaties signed with the Cherokee were a moot point, as they were deals between the state of Georgia and the Cherokee nation.  Per the Constitution, a state cannot sign a treaty with a nation--it's the Senate's job to ratify treaties.  Also, only a minority of Cherokee chiefs signed the treaty.  According to the Supreme Court, the Cherokee should get to stay. Jackson did not act on the ruling; since he is the enforcer of the law, per the Constitution, that was his prerogative.  The Cherokee and other Southeastern tribes had to go to Oklahoma, where many died and many more lived in poverty and lawlessness, as the Indian Territory was considered a haven for criminals in the period after the Civil War.