Choctaw at Washington, DC (1825)

What happened

On January 20, 1825, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun signed a convention in Washington with Choctaw chiefs and head men. It revisited the 1820 treaty at Doak's Stand, in which the United States had granted the Choctaw land west of the Mississippi. The preamble says that grant "embraces a large number of settlers, citizens of the United States," and that the President wanted to "obviate all difficulties resulting therefrom."

In Article 1 the Choctaw ceded the part of that western land lying east of a line. The line began on the Arkansas River, one hundred paces east of Fort Smith, and ran due south to the Red River. The text says the line "shall constitute, and remain, the permanent boundary between the United States and the Choctaws." The United States agreed to move the citizens settled west of it to the east side and to prevent future settlement.

In return, the United States agreed to pay the Choctaw $6,000 a year "forever." For twenty years that money was to support schools in the nation. It also agreed to pay $6,000 a year for sixteen years instead of surveying and selling land, as the 1820 treaty had provided.

The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History says Choctaw school funding later "came from annuity payments for land ceded in an 1825 treaty." The treaty text does not say how many acres were ceded.

Summarized with AI assistance from 3 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error