INDIAN REMOVAL ACT

(May 28, 1830) First major legislation that reversed the U.S. policy of respecting the rights of American Indians.

The act granted tribes unsettled western prairie land in exchange for their territories within state borders, mainly in the Southeast. Some tribes refused to trade their land, and U.S. troops forced tribes such as the Cherokee to march westward in what became known as the Trail of Tears (1838–39). In Florida the Seminole s fought resettlement in the Seminole Wars (1835–42).