Treaty of Payne's Landing facts for kids
The Treaty of Payne's Landing was an agreement signed on May 9, 1832. It was made between the United States government and leaders of the Seminole Native American people. This happened in the Florida Territory before Florida became a state.
Why the Treaty Was Needed
Back in 1823, the Seminoles signed the Treaty of Moultrie Creek. They gave up their land claims in Florida. In return, they received a special area called a reservation. This reservation was in the middle of the Florida peninsula. The U.S. government also promised to give them payments, supplies, and services for twenty years.
After Andrew Jackson became President of the United States in 1828, many people wanted to move all Native Americans to lands west of the Mississippi River. In 1830, the United States Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. This law allowed the government to make these moves happen.
The U.S. government was determined to move the Seminoles west. So, the United States Department of War chose James Gadsden to make a new treaty with them. In the spring of 1832, Seminole leaders from the reservation met at Payne's Landing. This place was on the Ocklawaha River. The talks were kept very quiet. No notes were taken, and no detailed reports were ever shared. This lack of clear records caused problems later on.
The U.S. government wanted the Seminoles to move to the Creek Reservation. This land was in what is now part of Oklahoma. They also wanted the Seminoles to join the Creek Nation. Another demand was for the Seminoles to return all runaway enslaved people. The Seminoles did not agree with any of these demands. They had heard the new land was harsher than Florida. Also, the Seminoles in Florida did not see themselves as part of the Creeks. Many groups in Florida, like the Choctaw and Yamasees, had never been connected to the Creeks. Finally, runaway enslaved people often lived among the Seminoles. They were treated much better than by white owners. They often married into Seminole families and became important leaders.
What the Treaty Said
The treaty signed at Payne's Landing said the Seminoles would move west. But only if the new land was found to be suitable. A group of seven Seminole chiefs was chosen to check out the new reservation. They did not leave Florida until October 1832. They traveled around the area for several months. They also talked with Creek people who already lived there.
On March 28, 1833, the seven chiefs signed a statement at Fort Gibson. They said the new land was acceptable. However, when they returned to Florida, most of the chiefs changed their minds. They claimed they had not signed the statement. Or they said they were forced to sign it. They also argued they did not have the power to decide for all the different Seminole groups. Even some U.S. Army officers thought the chiefs "had been tricked and pressured into signing." There was also "evidence of trickery by the whites in the way the treaty was written."
Some Seminole villages had been allowed to stay near the Apalachicola River after 1823. Gadsden convinced the chiefs of these villages to move. They went west in 1834. The United States Senate finally approved the Treaty of Payne's Landing in April 1834.
Refusing to Move West
The treaty gave the Seminoles three years to move west of the Mississippi River. The government believed these three years started in 1832. So, they expected the Seminoles to move in 1835. Fort King, near what is now Ocala, was reopened in 1834. A new Seminole agent, Wiley Thompson, was also appointed in 1834. His job was to convince the Seminoles to move.
Thompson called the chiefs together at Fort King in October 1834. He wanted to talk about moving west. The Seminoles told Thompson they would not move. They said they did not feel bound by the Treaty of Payne's Landing. Thompson then asked for more soldiers for Fort King and Fort Brooke. He reported that the Seminoles had bought "an unusually large quantity of Powder & Lead" after receiving their yearly payment. General Duncan L. Clinch, the U.S. Army commander in Florida, also warned Washington. He said the Seminoles did not plan to move. He added that more troops would be needed to force them.
In March 1835, Thompson gathered the chiefs again. He read them a letter from Andrew Jackson. In the letter, Jackson said, "Should you ... refuse to move, I have then directed the Commanding officer to remove you by force." The chiefs asked for thirty days to respond. A month later, the Seminole chiefs told Thompson they would not move west. Thompson and the chiefs began to argue. General Clinch had to step in to stop a fight. Eventually, eight of the chiefs agreed to move west. But they asked to delay the move until the end of the year. Thompson and Clinch agreed to this.
Five of the most important Seminole chiefs did not agree to move. This included Micanopy of the Alachua Seminoles. In response, Thompson said these chiefs were no longer leaders. As problems with the Seminoles grew, Thompson stopped the sale of guns and ammunition to them. Osceola, a young warrior, was very upset by this ban. He felt it treated Seminoles like enslaved people. He famously said, "The white man shall not make me black. I will make the white man red with blood; and then blacken him in the sun and rain ... and the buzzard live upon his flesh." Despite this, Thompson thought Osceola was a friend and gave him a rifle. Later, when Osceola caused trouble, Thompson locked him up at Fort King for a night. The next day, Osceola agreed to follow the treaty and bring his followers. This helped him get released.
The situation became worse. In August 1835, a soldier named Private Kinsley Dalton was killed by Seminoles. He was carrying mail from Fort Brooke to Fort King. In November, Chief Charley Emathla wanted to avoid war. He led his people toward Fort Brooke to board ships to go west. Other Seminoles saw this as a betrayal. Osceola met Emathla on the trail and killed him. This event marked the beginning of the Second Seminole War.
Signatories
- James Gadsden
- Holati Emartla, his x mark
- Jumper, his x mark
- Fuch-ta-lus-ta-Hadjo, his x mark
- Charley Emartla, his x mark
- Coa Hadjo, his x mark
- Ar-pi-uck-i, or Sam Jones, his x mark
- Ya-ha Hadjo, his x mark
- Mico-Noha, his x mark
- Tokose-Emartla, or Jno. Hicks. his x mark
- Cat-sha-Tusta-nuck-i, his x mark
- Hola-at-a-Mico, his x mark (aka Billy Bowlegs)
- Hitch-it-i-Mico, his x mark
- E-ne-hah, his x mark
- Ya- ha- emartla Chup- ko, his mark
- Moke-his-she-lar-ni, his x mark
Witnesses:
- Douglas Vass, Secretary to Commissioner,
- John Phagan, Agent,
- Stephen Richards, Interpreter,
- Abraham, Interpreter, his x mark,
- Cudjo, Interpreter, his x mark,
- Erastus Rogers,
- B. Joscan.
