Treaty of New Echota
Treaty of New Echota, Dec. 1835,
Digital Public Library of America
Cherokee Chief John Ross, 2018, Georgia Humanities Council and University of Georgia Press
"We are overwhelmed! Our hearts are sickened, our utterance is paralized, when we reflect on the condition in which we are placed, by the audacious practices of unprincipled men, who have managed their stratagems with so much dexterity as to impose on the Government of the United States, in the face of our earnest, solemn, and reiterated protestations."
-John Ross, Cherokee Principal Chief |
Under the treaty, the Cherokee received land in the west and $5,000,000 in return for their land east of the Mississippi River. A very small number of Cherokee signed the treaty in their capital of New Echota, Georgia in December 1835. The Treaty Party, led by Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot, believed the only way to survive was to sign the treaty and move into Indian Territory. This created conflict within the Cherokee since the Treaty Party were not tribal leaders. Ross and his followers resisted removal claiming the treaty was invalid.
"...Jackson had already said he would receive no Cherokee delegation. That and other considerations and actions on part of the federal government convinced them that there was no alternative but to settle a treaty of New Echota."- Major Ridge
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