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Northwest Ordinance
"The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent; and, in their property, rights, and liberty, they shall never be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity, shall from time to time be made for preventing wrongs being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them." -
Intercourse Act of 1790
'[N]o sale of lands made by any Indians, or any nation or tribe of Indians within the United States, shall be valid to any person or persons, or to any state, whether having the right of pre-emption to such lands or not, unless the same shall be made and duly executed at some public treaty, held under the authority of the United States." -
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Land Exchange Treaties
Jackson was instrumental in negotiating nine out of eleven treaties which divested the southern tribes of their eastern lands in exchange for lands in the west. -
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First Seminole War
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Andrew Jackson Invades Florida
Spurred, in part, by the motivation to punish the Seminoles for their practice of harboring fugitive slaves -
Johnsonn vs. McIntosh
1823 case of Johnson v. M'Intosh, the Supreme Court handed down a decision which stated that Indians could occupy lands within the United States, but could not hold title to those lands -
Indian Removal Act of 1830
Gave the president power to negotiate removal treaties with Indian tribes living east of the Mississippi.
The removal was supposed to be voluntary and peaceful, and it was that way for the tribes that agreed to the conditions. But the southeastern nations resisted, and Jackson forced them to leave. -
Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek
1st Removal act signed after the Indian Removal act of 1830.
Some chose to stay in Mississippi under the terms of the Removal Act.
The War Department made some attempts to protect those who stayed, it was no match for the land-hungry whites who squatted on Choctaw territory or cheated them out of their holdings
Most of the remaining Choctaws, weary of mistreatment, sold their land and moved west. -
Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia
The Cherokee Nation sought a federal injunction against laws passed by the state of Georgia depriving them of rights within its boundaries, but the Supreme Court did not hear the case on its merits. It ruled that it had no original jurisdiction in the matter, as the Cherokee were a dependent nation, with a relationship to the United States like that of a ward to its guardian. -
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Second Seminole War
Resisting relocation -
Treaty of New Echota
a small faction of Cherokee agreed to sign a removal agreement: the Treaty of New Echota. The leaders of this group were not the recognized leaders of the Cherokee nation, and over 15,000 Cherokees -- led by Chief John Ross -- signed a petition in protest. -
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Trail of Tears
the Cherokee began the thousand-mile march with scant clothing and most on foot without shoes or moccasins. The march began in Red Clay, Tennessee, the location of the last Eastern capital of the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee were given used blankets from a hospital in Tennessee where an epidemic of small pox had broken out. Because of the diseases, the Indians were not allowed to go into any towns or villages along the way; many times this meant traveling much farther to go around them. -
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Third Seminole War
