The Removal Act paved the way for the forced expulsion of tens of thousands of American Indians from their land into the West in an event widely known as the " Trail of Tears , " a forced resettlement of the Indian population . The first removal treaty signed was the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek on September 27 , 1830 , in which Choctaws in Mississippi ceded land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West . The Treaty of New Echota was signed in 1835 and resulted in the removal of the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Indian Removal Act