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The Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act, signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830, authorized the president to grant lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. -
The Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears. In 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. Because of its devastating effects, the Cherokee people called this journey the "Trail of Tears. " -
The Civil War
The American Civil War was a conflict between the Union and the Confederacy in the United States, which was established in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union. -
The Reconstruction Treaties
The Five Civilized Tribes signed treaties in Washington, D.C. in 1866, which included amnesty for past crimes against the United States and provisions for peace and friendship. -
The Dawes Act
The law authorized the President to divide reservation land, held in common by tribe members, into small allotments for individuals. -
The Oklahoma Land Rush
The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 marked the first land run into the Unassigned Lands of the former Indian Territory, which had previously been allocated to the Creek and Seminole peoples. -
The Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934, also known as the Wheeler–Howard Act, was a piece of U.S. federal legislation that addressed the status of American Indians in the United States.