With the Indian Removal Act, the U.S. began to relocate thousands of Native American communities in the east. In Florida, they encountered the resistance of Osceola.
White Settlement in Florida
When the U.S. took possession of Florida in 1821, the Seminole were inundated with white settlers along their borderlands. Seeking to preserve the fragile peace that had fallen over the embattled territory after the First Seminole War, a selection of chiefs agreed to the Treaty of Tampa in 1823. Again, the Seminole were asked to vacate their lands and move to a new reservation located east of Tampa Bay. Few complied, but those who did remain avoided open hostilities with the settlers. In 1830, with the Indian Removal Act, the American government sought to remove the Seminole further…and expand the settlements. Secretary of War Lewis Cass dispatched James Gadsden to negotiate for the United States. In the Treaty of Payne’s Landing, the Seminole agreed to evacuate Florida within three years in exchange for lands in Oklahoma. The Seminole were to be provided monetary recompense for their lands and given supplies to make the journey. In 1833, the Creek Nation agreed to donate a portion of their own lands in the Oklahoma to their Seminole cousins. At the end of the three years, however, scant few Seminole had relocated.
Osceola Arrested
As more white settlers moved into Florida, tensions began to rise between the newcomers and the indigenous communities. This forced the United States to once again adopt a policy of removal—ostensibly for the protection of both peoples. In reality, America’s policy of acquiring lands and encouraging settlements along the very borderlands of native territory was what caused the crisis. The American agent for Indian affairs in Florida, General Wiley Thompson, met with the principal leaders of the Seminole Nation in 1835 at Ft. King. Thompson insisted that the Seminole vacate their lands and accept the terms of the original treaty. One chief, a man named Osceola, refused to accept and was forthwith arrested. He was released only after promising to sign a second document voiding all Seminole land claims in Florida. Osceola only acquiesced in order to make his escape from the summit. After killing one the chiefs who had accepted the American terms, Osceola went into deep cover with a band of loyal warriors and resolved to fight to death rather than leave his homeland.
Osceola Dies in Prison
Gaining momentum throughout 1835, Osceola amassed a small but determined army to combat the Americans. Adopting the hit and run guerilla tactics that had benefited other Native American leaders, he managed to rout his enemy in several engagements. He even took on Ft. King and killed General Thompson, a victory which earned him the respect of the other Seminole leaders. By the end of 1835, Osceola was the undisputed leader of the Seminole resistance. Engaging the Americans in dozens of surprise battles, he was able to maintain the upper hand on many fronts. An enraged President Jackson went through a succession of officers in the search for the right man to combat this rebellion. White settlers fled Florida and the United States government prepared for another invasion to quell the resistance in its most contentious possession. Invited to a peace conference in 1837, Osceola was captured by the Americans and died in prison the following year. The loss of their commander-in-chief could not stem the tide of Seminole resistance and they continued to fight, drawing the Americans deeper into the Everglades. Gradually, the United States gained ground but at the cost of $20 million and hundreds of lives.
What separates this conflict from many other Indian uprisings is that the Seminole not only won more battles than they lost, but that they were actually able to fight the Americans to a draw. In 1842, the American government stopped its ingress, but over 3,000 Seminole had already left their embattled homelands and relocated to Oklahoma.
Mark C Carnes, Ed, U.S. History. (New York: MacMillan Library Reference, 1996).
Kenneth C. Davis, Don’t Know Much About History. (New York: Harper-Collins Publishers, 2003).
Nelson Klose and Robert F. Jones, United States History: To 1877. (Hauppauge: Barron’s Educational Services, Inc., 1994).
Gilbert Legay, Atlas of Indians. (Hauppage: Barron’s Educational Services, Inc., 1995)
James M. McPherson, Ed., “To the Best of My Ability”: The American Presidents. (London: Dorling-Kidersley, 2000).
