As the Supreme Court was no longer involved , and the Jackson administration had no interest in interfering with Indian removal , the state of Georgia was free to extend its control over the Cherokee . In 1832 , Georgia held a lottery to distribute Cherokee lands to white settlers . Under the leadership of Chief John Ross , most Cherokee refused to leave their homeland , but a group led by John Ridge and Elias Boudinot negotiated the Treaty of New Echota . In return for $ 5 million and land west of the Mississippi River , Ridge and Boudinot agreed to lead a faction of the Cherokee out of Georgia ; a fraction of the Cherokee would leave in 1836 . Many other Cherokee protested the treaty , but , by a narrow margin , the United States Senate voted to ratify the treaty in May 1836 . The Treaty of New Echota was enforced by Jackson 's successor , Van Buren ; subsequently , as many as 4,000 out of 18,000 Cherokees died on the " Trail of Tears " in 1838
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Presidency of Andrew Jackson