Question

Native American Land Cessions

What did William McIntosh do by signing the Treaties of Indian Springs?

Answer 1

By signing the Treaties of Indian Springs, William McIntosh, a Creek chief, ceded a significant amount of Creek land to the United States government. The treaties, signed in 1825 and 1826, resulted in the cession of around five million acres of Creek land in present-day Georgia and Alabama. The treaties were highly controversial within the Creek Nation, as McIntosh did not have the authority to sign them without the consent of the majority of Creek leaders. In fact, a faction of Creeks led by Menawa opposed the treaties and saw McIntosh's actions as betrayal. As a consequence, McIntosh was executed by his own people for signing the treaties without proper authority. The treaties ultimately paved the way for the forced removal of the Creek Nation from their ancestral lands along the Trail of Tears.