Introduction. The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830, authorizing the president to grant lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. A few tribes went peacefully, but many resisted the relocation policy.
The Removal Act paved the way for the forced expulsion of tens of thousands of American Indians from their land into the West in an event widely known as the "Trail of Tears," a forced resettlement of the Indian population.
The Indian Nations themselves were force to move and ended up in Oklahoma. The five major tribes affected were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole
