The Creek War of 1836 resulted in the forced removal of approximately 20,000 Upper Creeks from Alabama to Indian Territory.
Key Facts
- Upper Creeks in Alabama
- ~20,000
- Treaty of Cusseta signed
- 24 March 1832
- Destination of removed Creeks
- Indian Territory, west of the Mississippi River
- U.S. Commander dispatched
- General Winfield Scott
- Secretary of War
- Lewis Cass
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
After the Treaty of Cusseta (1832) divided Creek lands into individual allotments, land speculators and squatters systematically defrauded Creeks of their holdings. Alabama had already moved to abolish tribal governments and impose state law, and President Andrew Jackson refused Creek appeals for federal protection, instead supporting removal to Indian Territory.
Some Creeks responded to the fraud with violence, which U.S. officials labeled a 'war' to justify voiding prior treaty rights. Secretary of War Lewis Cass dispatched General Winfield Scott to suppress the violence. The conflict served as a pretext for the U.S. government to forcibly relocate the remaining Upper Creeks from Alabama.
General Winfield Scott oversaw the forcible removal of approximately 20,000 Upper Creeks from Alabama to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River, effectively completing the expulsion of the Muscogee Creek people from their ancestral lands in the eastern United States in accordance with the broader Indian removal policy of the Jackson administration.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
General Winfield Scott.
Side B
1 belligerent
Chief Opothle Yohola.