Federal policy under Jackson had sought , through the Indian Removal Act of 1830 , to move all indigenous peoples to lands west of the Mississippi River . Continuing this policy , the federal government negotiated 19 treaties with Indian nations in the course of Van Buren 's presidency . By the time Van Buren took office , the Muscogee , Chickasaw , and Choctaw had been removed to lands west of the Mississippi River , but a large number of Cherokee were still in Georgia and the Seminole remained in Florida . An 1835 treaty signed by U.S. government officials and representatives of the Cherokee Nation had established terms under which the entire nation would cede its territory and move across the Mississippi River , but many Cherokee viewed the treaty as fraudulent . In 1838 , Van Buren directed General Winfield Scott to forcibly move all those Cherokee who had not yet complied with the treaty . The Cherokee were herded violently into internment camps , where they were kept for the summer of 1838 . The actual transportation west was delayed by intense heat and drought , but in the fall , the Cherokee reluctantly agreed to migrate west . During the Cherokee removal , part of the Trail of Tears , some 20,000 people were relocated against their will
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Presidency of Martin Van Buren