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SoutheastNever ratified

Treaty with the Cherokee, 1835-03-14 (unratified)

A March 1835 Washington agreement offered the Cherokee $4.5 million and western land for their eastern country, but it was never approved.

Signed
March 14, 1835
Senate
Never ratified

The Senate never ratified this treaty, so under U.S. law it never took effect, even when the government acted on it.

What happened

On March 14, 1835, in Washington, John F. Schermerhorn, for the United States, and a delegation of the Cherokee, including John Ridge and Elias Boudinot, signed articles of a treaty. The President directed that it be submitted to the Cherokee Nation "for their consideration and approbation." The preamble calls the articles "merely" propositions that would be "utterly invalid until approved by them." It adds that the Cherokee people were not "in the slightest manner committed."

In Article 2 the Cherokee Nation would cede all its lands east of the Mississippi River, in exchange for the additional land in Article 3 and $4,500,000. Article 3 described a tract in the West of seven million acres, "a perpetual outlet west," and a further tract estimated at 800,000 acres.

Article 1 provided that the people would meet at New Echota, and if a majority favored the treaty it would be considered approved. Article 19 also required approval by a majority of the chiefs, headmen and warriors and ratification by the President and Senate. The database records the agreement as unratified.

The Georgia Encyclopedia says that in 1835 the Treaty Party, led by Major Ridge, John Ridge and Elias Boudinot, signed the Treaty of New Echota "without the authority of Principal Chief Ross or the Cherokee government."

Good to know. Not to be confused with the Treaty of New Echota, also made in 1835. The seven million and 800,000 acre figures are the text's own.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error

What the sources say, and how this was checked

Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.

  1. to be utterly invalid until approved by themTribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Agreement with the Cherokee, 1835
  2. that a majority of the people are in favor of the treatyTribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Agreement with the Cherokee, 1835
  3. March 14, 1835. | Unratified.Tribal Treaties Database (Oklahoma State University): Agreement with the Cherokee, 1835
  4. signed the Treaty of New Echota at the Cherokee capital without the authority of Principal Chief Ross or the Cherokee governmentNew Georgia Encyclopedia: Cherokee Removal

Research notes. The cited sources do not say how the Cherokee people responded to this March proposal or link it directly to the Treaty of New Echota. The seven million and 800,000 acre figures are the text's own.

What happened next

Everything the record holds about this land and this treaty, in order: what earlier agreements said, what this one did, and what the United States, the courts and the nations did afterwards.

Who is doing the work today

The nations connected to this treaty come first, then groups returning land and defending treaty rights. Support goes directly to them.

This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:

Native legal and land defense, nationally

Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.

Sources

  1. treaties.okstate.edu/indexes/kapplers-indexreference work
Research notes

Kappler index entry 'Mar 14, 1835, unratified (1041)' read on the OSU Kappler's Index page.

Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.