When was indian removal act

Your commitment is needed now. We call this group Circle of Friends, because a friend is someone who makes a lasting commitment. Learn More ». Shop Now ». Join our Circle of Friends - make a monthly gift! Success Stories. The treaty was opposed by many members of the Cherokee Nation, and when they refused to leave, Maj. Winfield Scott was ordered to push them out. He was given 3, troops and the authority to raise additional state militia and volunteer troops to force removal.

Approximately 4, of 16, Cherokees died along the way. By the s, nearly all Indian tribes had been driven west, which is exactly what the act intended to accomplish. However, President Jackson and his government frequently ignored the letter of the law and forced Native Americans to vacate lands they had lived on for generations. In the winter of , under threat of invasion by the U.

Army, the Choctaw became the first nation to be expelled from its land altogether. Thousands of people died along the way. The Indian-removal process continued. In , the federal government drove the Creeks from their land for the last time: 3, of the 15, Creeks who set out for Oklahoma did not survive the trip. Some wanted to stay and fight.

Others thought it was more pragmatic to agree to leave in exchange for money and other concessions. To the federal government, the treaty was a done deal, but many of the Cherokee felt betrayed; after all, the negotiators did not represent the tribal government or anyone else.

Senate protesting the treaty. By , only about 2, Cherokees had left their Georgia homeland for Indian Territory. Scott and his troops forced the Cherokee into stockades at bayonet point while his men looted their homes and belongings. Then, they marched the Indians more than 1, miles to Indian Territory. Whooping cough, typhus, dysentery, cholera and starvation were epidemic along the way, and historians estimate that more than 5, Cherokee died as a result of the journey.

By , tens of thousands of Native Americans had been driven off of their land in the southeastern states and forced to move across the Mississippi to Indian Territory. In , Oklahoma became a state and Indian Territory was gone for good. Today, the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail is run by the National Park Service and portions of it are accessible on foot, by horse, by bicycle or by car.

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