During what was supposed to be a truce, U.S. He was both a warrior and a spokesperson, and he led their people in many battles. Chief Osceola, known for his impressive skill and smarts in battle, led the Seminoles. Refusing to adhere to the Indian Removal Act, most Seminoles did not leave their homeland by Lake Okeechobee. We know this as the Second Seminole War, which began in 1835 and ended in 1842.

While some tribes went willingly, the Seminole tribe resisted for seven years. Army to force tribes who refused to leave, leaving them no choice but to journey through the Trail of Tears. He actively promoted the Indian Removal Act to Congress, and this led to its ratification in 1830. President, Andrew Jackson made use of his position to actively declare his support of relocating American Indian tribes to the west. President Jackson earned himself the title of an “Indian fighter” because of his direct hand at the Trail of Tears.Īs the seventh U.S. To his surprise, France offered to sell the entirety of Louisiana, and this expansion furthered the power of the United States. Originally, President Thomas Jefferson only asked about purchasing New Orleans. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte sold 530,000,000 acres of land to the United States for $15 million. The United States gained this land through the Louisiana Purchase. Missionaries accompanied some Cherokee groups through the Trail of Tears.īefore the Trail of Tears, the United States did not originally own the “Indian Territory” they moved American Indians to.įrance owned the land west of the Mississippi River, where the Cherokees, Seminoles, and other tribes moved to.The contentions between the state of Georgia and the Cherokee people peaked after the Indian Removal Act.The state of Georgia held lotteries to give away rights to Cherokee land to white settlers.The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes were the most notable American Indian tribes.government used force, bribery, and coercion to move natives who refused to leave. government dubbed this promised land for the American Indians as “Indian Territory.” Some American Indian tribes moved willingly to the west because of promised land.White settlers deeply coveted American Indian homelands for their expansive land and gold mines.The Founding Fathers struggled to maintain friendly relations between the natives and white settlers.The Cherokee tribe calls the Trail of Tears in their native language as nunahi-duna-dlo-hilu-i, which directly translates to “the trail where they cried.”.

Trail of tears participants