Finally , during the 1820s and 1830s the Creek , Cherokee , and virtually all the southeastern Indians were removed to Indian Territory ( present-day Oklahoma ) . The Cherokee removal is remembered as the Trail of Tears . The Cherokee capital city of New Echota was located on the headwater tributaries of the Coosa River , in Georgia , until the tribe 's removal . The Creek and Choctaw removals were similar to the Cherokee Trail of Tears . After the removals , the Coosa River valley and the southeast in general was wide open for American settlers . The cotton gin made short-staple cotton profitable to process , and it was a new cotton hybrid that could be grown in the upland regions ; large-scale migrations known as " Alabama Fever " filled Alabama with new settlers
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Coosa River