What happened at the William McIntosh and the treaties of Indian springs

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The William McIntosh Treaty and the Treaty of Indian Springs were both controversial events involving the Creek Nation in the early 19th century.

William McIntosh was a Creek chief who signed the Treaty of Indian Springs on February 12, 1825. The treaty ceded a significant portion of Creek lands in present-day Georgia and Alabama to the United States government. However, many Creeks vehemently opposed this treaty as McIntosh did not have the authority to sign it on behalf of the entire nation.

The controversy surrounding the treaty grew, and a faction of the Creek Nation that opposed McIntosh's actions executed him on April 30, 1825. They viewed him as a traitor to his people for signing away their ancestral lands. McIntosh's execution created further tensions between pro-American and anti-American factions within the Creek Nation.

In response to the controversy, the U.S. government signed a new treaty, the Treaty of Washington, in 1826, which nullified the Treaty of Indian Springs. The new treaty restored much of the Creek lands that had been ceded, but tensions and conflict within the Creek Nation persisted for years to come.