In 1830 President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. The Indian Removal Act gave the federal government the power to exchange Indian land east of the Mississippi for land west in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma. Native American tribes that did not vacate the land mentioned in the act were forcefully removed by the American government. The Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole were known as the Five Civilized Tribes that were forced on the Trail of Tears. The Cherokee were a Native American tribe that resided in parts of Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and North Carolina. In Illinois the Sauk tribe realized that their enemy was the white people flocking onto their land. The leader of the Sauk tribe, Black Hawk, grew increasingly angry and began to prepare for war.
The Black Hawk War began when U.S troops met Black Hawk at disputed territory lines and a truce bearer was killed. The war lasted fifteen weeks resulting in mostly Indian casualties and Black Hawk's surrender before reaching the Mississippi. The Second Seminole War was a brutal conflict involving various Native American tribes in Florida and the U.S government from 1835 to 1842. Native American chiefs Osceola, Alligator, and Micanopy organized roughly 3,000 warriors while the U.s government regulated roughly 30,000 troops. Osceola was captured and died later in prison causing a disbandment of the tribes.
