Choctaw and Chickasaw Reading - full article link
Mississippi never ceased its efforts to get the federal government to remove the tribes inside its borders. Encouraged by the election of Andrew Jackson as president in 1828, it extended its laws over the Chickasaw and Choctaw, abolishing tribal governments.
Nothing was done to prevent whites from encroaching on native lands, and they were free to rob and murder Chickasaw or Choctaw without fear of prosecution. Chickasaw appeals for federal protection and the enforcement of their treaty rights went unanswered by the Jackson administration. When Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830, the Chickasaw's days in Mississippi were numbered.
However, there had been considerable Congressional opposition to the Removal Act, and hoping that the next election might reverse this policy, the Chickasaw stalled. When they met the government representatives at Franklin, Tennessee that August, the Chickasaw signed a treaty ceding their land east of the Mississippi on condition that they be given suitable land west of the Mississippi.
Funny thing, no matter how hard the Chickasaw looked, they could not find anything suitable, and the best lands had already been promised to other tribes. In October, the Chickasaw signed the Treaty of Pontotoc ceding six million acres east of the Mississippi in exchange for $3,046,000 less the costs to the government of surveying and selling the land.
Unlike the Choctaw who had exchanged their lands for a large tract in southeast Oklahoma, the Chickasaw sold theirs for money with which they were to purchase suitable land in the Indian Territory. At the signing, it was anticipated that the Chickasaw would be able to purchase land from the Choctaw. Unfortunately, the Choctaw proved unwilling to part with any land that the Chickasaw wanted.
Negotiations broke down putting the Chickasaw departure from Mississippi on indefinite hold. The federal government also agreed to protect the Chickasaw and their property from whites who, unwilling to wait for them to leave, were just moving in and taking what they wanted.
It took the government five years to get the Choctaw and Chickasaw to agree, but the treaty signed at Doaksville (Oklahoma) in January, 1837 pleased no one except a government desperate to get the Chickasaw to leave Mississippi.
Nothing was done to prevent whites from encroaching on native lands, and they were free to rob and murder Chickasaw or Choctaw without fear of prosecution. Chickasaw appeals for federal protection and the enforcement of their treaty rights went unanswered by the Jackson administration. When Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830, the Chickasaw's days in Mississippi were numbered.
However, there had been considerable Congressional opposition to the Removal Act, and hoping that the next election might reverse this policy, the Chickasaw stalled. When they met the government representatives at Franklin, Tennessee that August, the Chickasaw signed a treaty ceding their land east of the Mississippi on condition that they be given suitable land west of the Mississippi.
Funny thing, no matter how hard the Chickasaw looked, they could not find anything suitable, and the best lands had already been promised to other tribes. In October, the Chickasaw signed the Treaty of Pontotoc ceding six million acres east of the Mississippi in exchange for $3,046,000 less the costs to the government of surveying and selling the land.
Unlike the Choctaw who had exchanged their lands for a large tract in southeast Oklahoma, the Chickasaw sold theirs for money with which they were to purchase suitable land in the Indian Territory. At the signing, it was anticipated that the Chickasaw would be able to purchase land from the Choctaw. Unfortunately, the Choctaw proved unwilling to part with any land that the Chickasaw wanted.
Negotiations broke down putting the Chickasaw departure from Mississippi on indefinite hold. The federal government also agreed to protect the Chickasaw and their property from whites who, unwilling to wait for them to leave, were just moving in and taking what they wanted.
It took the government five years to get the Choctaw and Chickasaw to agree, but the treaty signed at Doaksville (Oklahoma) in January, 1837 pleased no one except a government desperate to get the Chickasaw to leave Mississippi.