Despairing and sorrowful.
Explanation:
The Trail of Tears is known to be a terrible and regretful part of American history, where Native Americans were forced out of their homelands and went on a treacherous journey to where the United States government wanted to put them.
When the Indian Removal Act was passed, this meant that Native Americans had to move west, to where present-day Oklahoma is located. The United States wanted to move them because they felt like they were in the way of expansion. They had just acquired new land to the west and wanted to start branching out.
Obviously, the Native Americans did not want to leave. They wanted to stay in their sacred homelands but knew that they were no match for the United States government. Still, they refused to leave, which caused President Jackson to send troops and make them leave by force.
This march that they were forced to walk is known as the Trail of Tears. The walk was often dangerous and the weather conditions were unbearable. With just the heat and the cold alone, many ended up dying as they were forced from their homes. Not only this, but many ended up dying of starvation and disease.
This is why the two adjectives I chose to represent the Trail of Tears are both "despairing" and "sorrowful" because that is what it truly represents.
