The early 19th century in the United States was a period of intense westward expansion, fueled by the promise of land and opportunity. However, this expansion came at a devastating cost to the Native American tribes who inhabited these lands. White Americans, particularly those on the frontier, often viewed Native Americans with a mixture of fear and resentment. They were seen as alien and unfamiliar, occupying land coveted by white settlers who believed it was their destiny to possess it.
In the early years of the American republic, some officials, including President George Washington, advocated for a policy of "civilizing" Native Americans. This initiative aimed to assimilate Native Americans into white American society by encouraging them to convert to Christianity, learn English, and adopt European-style economic practices. These practices included individual land ownership and the accumulation of property, sometimes even extending to the ownership of African slaves, particularly in the South.
Within the southeastern United States, the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Creek, and Cherokee peoples responded to these pressures in various ways. Many embraced aspects of this "civilization" program, adopting new customs and practices. They became known as the "Five Civilized Tribes," a testament to their adaptation and integration of European-American ways.
However, the land these tribes occupied, located in present-day Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee, was highly valuable. As more white settlers flooded the region, the desire for this land intensified. Driven by the allure of growing cotton and amassing wealth, these settlers disregarded the degree to which their Native American neighbors had assimilated. Their primary goal was acquisition, and they were willing to employ unscrupulous methods to achieve it.
These settlers engaged in a range of illegal and aggressive tactics, including stealing livestock, burning homes and towns, and illegally squatting on Native American land. Their actions were designed to intimidate and displace the Native American population, paving the way for white settlement and economic exploitation.
The state governments of the South actively participated in the effort to remove Native Americans. They enacted laws designed to undermine Native American sovereignty, restrict their rights, and encroach upon their territories. These laws directly challenged the established rights and self-governance of the tribes.
In response to these state actions, the Cherokee Nation challenged the state of Georgia in the U.S. Supreme Court. Landmark cases such as Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) and Worcester v. Georgia (1832) resulted. The Supreme Court affirmed the sovereignty of Native American nations, declaring that state laws had no force within their territories. Despite these legal victories, the maltreatment of Native Americans continued unabated. President Andrew Jackson, in defiance of the Supreme Court rulings, refused to enforce them, effectively rendering them meaningless.
The southern states remained determined to seize Native American lands, regardless of legal or moral constraints. Their relentless pursuit of territory would lead to the tragic events that define the Trail of Tears.
The Trail of Tears Begins with Choctaw Indian Removal
Andrew Jackson was a staunch advocate of "Indian removal." His military career was marked by brutal campaigns against the Creeks in Georgia and Alabama, and the Seminoles in Florida. These campaigns resulted in the transfer of vast tracts of land from Indian nations to white settlers. As president, Jackson continued his crusade to remove Native Americans from their ancestral lands.
In 1830, he signed the Indian Removal Act. This act authorized the federal government to exchange Native-held land east of the Mississippi River for land to the west, in the "Indian colonization zone" acquired as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
The Indian Removal Act stipulated that the government must negotiate treaties fairly, voluntarily, and peacefully. It explicitly prohibited coercion. However, the Jackson administration routinely disregarded the law’s provisions, forcing Native Americans to abandon their homes and livelihoods.
In the winter of 1831, under the threat of invasion by the U.S. Army, the Choctaw became the first nation to be forcibly removed from their land.
Nearly 17,000 Choctaws, accompanied by 1,000 enslaved people, were forced to move to what would become Indian Territory. After ceding nearly 11 million acres, the Choctaw emigration occurred in three stages between 1831 and 1833. The journey was fraught with hardship, including the devastating winter blizzard of 1830-31 and the cholera epidemic of 1832. The Choctaws traveled on foot, often without adequate food, supplies, or government assistance. One historian described some being "bound in chains and marched double file." An estimated 2,500 to 6,000 people perished along the way. One Choctaw leader described the experience to an Alabama newspaper as a "Trail of Tears and death."
The Choctaw removal continued throughout the 19th century. Additional removals occurred in 1846 and 1903, further diminishing the Choctaw presence in Mississippi. By 1903, only 1,665 Choctaws remained in Mississippi, a stark reminder of the devastating impact of forced removal.
The Creek Trail of Tears
Following the War of 1812, some Muscogee leaders, such as William McIntosh, signed treaties ceding additional land to Georgia. The 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson signaled the end of the Creek Nation and the independence of all Indians in the South. Despite promises of peace from Creek leaders, Andrew Jackson insisted on land cessions as compensation for the war. He also ignored Article 9 of the Treaty of Ghent, which restored sovereignty to Indian nations.
The Creek Confederacy enacted a law making further land cessions a capital offense. Nevertheless, in 1825, McIntosh and other chiefs signed the Treaty of Indian Springs, giving up most of the remaining Creek lands in Georgia. The Creek National Council protested, and President John Quincy Adams initially nullified the treaty. However, the governor of Georgia ignored the new treaty and began forcibly removing the Creeks under the terms of the earlier agreement.
While many Lower Creeks moved to Indian Territory, approximately 20,000 Upper Creeks remained in Alabama. The state moved to abolish tribal governments and extend state laws over the Creeks. When President Jackson’s administration failed to provide protection, the Treaty of Cusseta was signed in 1832, dividing Creek lands into individual allotments.
The Creeks were given the option to sell their allotments and move west or remain in Alabama and submit to state laws. However, rampant illegal settlement and fraudulent schemes deprived the Creeks of their land and resources.
Escalating tensions led to the Creek War of 1836. The federal government responded by forcibly removing over 15,000 Creeks to Indian Territory. Approximately 3,500 of those who embarked on the journey did not survive. This period is also known as Trail of Tears.
Seminole Wars and Removal
The United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1821. In 1832, the Seminoles were called to a meeting at Payne’s Landing, where a treaty was negotiated for their removal west of the Mississippi. The Seminoles were to settle on the Creek reservation, but some Seminoles feared hostility from the Creeks.
A delegation of chiefs inspected the proposed reservation in 1833 and signed a statement of acceptance. However, upon their return to Florida, most of the chiefs renounced the statement, claiming coercion or lack of authority.
On December 28, 1835, a group of Seminoles ambushed a U.S. Army company, killing all but three of the 110 troops. This event, known as the Dade Massacre, marked the beginning of the Second Seminole War.
The Seminole Wars lasted for a decade. Ultimately, the U.S. government abandoned its efforts to subjugate the Seminoles in the Everglades, leaving a small number in peace. As a result of their resistance, the Seminole tribe of the Everglades claims to be the only federally recognized tribe that never relinquished sovereignty or signed a peace treaty with the United States.
Chickasaw Receive Compensation for Removal to Indian Territory
The Chickasaw resisted European-American encroachment and were forced to sell their country in the 1832 Treaty of Pontotoc Creek. Unlike other tribes, the Chickasaw negotiated for financial compensation rather than land grants, receiving $3 million for their lands east of the Mississippi. In 1836, they purchased land in Indian Territory from the Choctaw for $530,000.
In 1837, 3,001 Chickasaw gathered in Memphis, Tennessee, with their belongings, livestock, and enslaved African Americans. They crossed the Mississippi River, following routes established by the Choctaw and Creek. Over 500 Chickasaw died of dysentery and smallpox during the journey.
The Cherokee Were the Last to Travel the Trail of Tears
The Cherokee nation was divided on how to respond to the government’s determination to acquire their territory. In 1835, a small group negotiated the Treaty of New Echota, trading all Cherokee land east of the Mississippi for $5 million, relocation assistance, and compensation for lost property. However, the treaty was not supported by the Cherokee tribal government or the majority of the Cherokee people.
Despite protests and petitions, Congress approved the treaty. In 1838, President Martin Van Buren sent General Winfield Scott and 7,000 soldiers to enforce the removal.
Scott’s troops forced the Cherokee into stockades at bayonet point while whites looted their homes. Some Cherokees fled and hid in the mountains, becoming the ancestors of the Eastern Cherokee.
Those who were captured were marched over 1,200 miles to Indian Territory. Disease, starvation, and exposure led to the deaths of an estimated 5,000 Cherokee. This devastating journey is the most widely recognized episode of the Trail of Tears.
By 1840, tens of thousands of Native Americans had been forcibly removed from their lands in the southeastern states and forced to move west of the Mississippi to Indian Territory. While the federal government promised that this new land would remain unmolested forever, westward expansion continued, and "Indian country" continued to shrink. In 1907, Oklahoma became a state, and Indian Territory was dissolved. The Trail of Tears remains a painful reminder of the injustices and hardships endured by Native Americans during the era of westward expansion.