Indian Removal Act

An 1830 United States law authorized the federal government to negotiate the exchange of Indigenous lands east of the Mississippi River for lands farther west. Its implementation drove forced removals, including the Cherokee Trail of Tears.

Trail of Tears: The forced 1838–1839 removal of most Cherokee people from the Southeast to Indian Territory, during which thousands died. It became the best-known forced removal carried out under the law.
Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek: A 1830 treaty in which Choctaw leaders ceded their remaining lands in Mississippi in exchange for territory west of the Mississippi River. It was the first removal treaty concluded after the act became law.
Andrew Jackson's message on Indian removal: Andrew Jackson's 1829 annual message to Congress advocating the relocation of Indigenous nations living east of the Mississippi River. It set out the removal policy that Congress debated and enacted the following year.
Cherokee Nation: A sovereign Indigenous nation whose historic homelands include parts of the southeastern United States. Its leaders and citizens resisted the loss of their homeland through treaties, petitions, and court cases.
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia: An 1831 U.S. Supreme Court case that described tribes as "domestic dependent nations" and dismissed the Cherokee Nation's suit for lack of jurisdiction. The case exposed the limits of Cherokee legal resistance as Georgia asserted authority over Cherokee lands.
Treaty of New Echota: A 1835 treaty signed by a minority faction of Cherokee leaders that ceded Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi River. The United States used it to justify Cherokee removal despite opposition from most Cherokee people.
Georgia land lottery: A series of state lotteries that distributed land in Georgia, including territory claimed by the Muscogee and Cherokee peoples. Settler demand for Indigenous land in Georgia intensified pressure for federal removal.
Seminole Wars: A series of conflicts in Florida between the United States and Seminole people, especially over removal and control of Indigenous lands. Seminole resistance showed that removal could provoke prolonged armed conflict.
Worcester v. Georgia: An 1832 U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that Georgia laws had no force within Cherokee territory. The ruling rejected Georgia's jurisdiction, but did not stop removal under the law.
John Ross: The principal chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1828 to 1866, who opposed removal and led efforts to resist it. He challenged the treaty used to remove the Cherokee and sought to defend the Nation's land rights.

Linked from 29 pages