In North America, particularly in the United States, things were not handled in the traditional way. The United States Government claims never to have conquered the Native Americans. Instead, each tribe was recognized as a separate and sovereign nation living within the boundaries of the United States. Indian nations elected their own officials and made their own laws within the borders of their own lands – but the United States Government reserved the right to make all final decisions concerning what to do with Indian land.

Andrew Jackson, at that time one of the Indian commissioners, repeatedly warned the Indians that if they did not move, they would certainly perish in the East, and that if they did not accept the treaty, they would jeopardize friendly relations with the United States. Chief Pushmataha and a few others knew that Jackson spoke the truth. They persuaded others. On October 18, 1820, the Choctaw leaders and the Indian commissioners signed the Treaty of Doak’s Stand.

In 1819, the federal government had promised not to ask for any more land from the Cherokees. Until 1835, Cherokee leaders Major Ridge, John Ridge, Elias Boudinot, and Principal Chief John Ross held firm that the United States Government should honor its promise to leave the Cherokees alone. They had maintained a steadfast front against removal. On December 29, 1835, however, at New Echota, Elias Boudinot, Major Ridge, and John Ridge signed a treaty agreeing to remove to the West