On this day, 176 years ago, the Treaty of New Echota was signed between representatives of the United States government and the Cherokee tribe. The document had been in the works since John Quincy Adams administration in the 1820s, but he was a staunch believer in Native sovereignty, and refused to cooperate.
Things changed after Andrew Jackson, a renowned "Indian fighter" (and racist), was elected in 1828. One year later, gold was discovered in Georgia. The ensuing flux of Anglo-English settlers renewed a desire to have the Cherokee ousted. The Natives had formed their own political delegations to negotiate with the US. The treaty originally stated that the land would be purchased for the sum of five million dollars, and grant state citizenship to any Native who didn't want to leave. These provisions were blotted out by Jackson.
The treaty was approved by the Senate in a single vote, despite the protests of the Cherokee. In 1839, Martin van Buren had become President. He ordered General Winfield Scott to forcibly relocate the Natives.
Elements of the Cherokee, Chocktaw, Seminole, Chickasaw and Creek tribes were all moved across hundreds of miles into the Deep South. Of 15,000 Cherokee, 4,000 died.
It became known as the Trail of Tears.
