When gold was discovered on Cherokee lands, white prospectors flooded over the border onto their lands, and the state of Georgia used this as a pretext for declaring all treaties with Indian nations to be null and void.
When gold was
discovered on Cherokee land in Georgia, whites poured onto Cherokee
lands by the thousands, ignoring treaties, burning villages, and
flaunting the U.S. Constitution and the Non-Intercourse laws passed
by Congress. The Cherokee turned to Washington for help, but
President Andrew Jackson responded by withdrawing all federal
troops from the area and turning a blind eye to the reports of
wide-spread carnage.
(for more on the Cherokee 'gold rush,' click
here)
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