Final answer:
The relationship between the Cherokee Nation and the U.S. government in 1835 was defined by coercion and legal conflict, resulting in the harsh and unjust Treaty of New Echota, and ultimately leading to the forced removal known as the Trail of Tears.
Step-by-step explanation:
In 1835, the relationship between the Cherokee Nation and the U.S. government was tense and fraught with conflict. The U.S. government, under President Andrew Jackson's administration, was actively seeking the removal of the Cherokee people from their ancestral lands. This was largely driven by the discovery of gold on Cherokee land and the desire of white settlers to expand into these territories.
The legal battles between the Cherokee and the state of Georgia reached a key moment in the Worcester v. Georgia decision (1832), where the Supreme Court ruled that only the national government had authority over Indian affairs, not individual states like Georgia. Despite this, President Jackson and the state of Georgia continued to pressure for removal. After Jackson's reelection in 1832, a group within the Cherokee Nation named the Treaty Party felt compelled to agree to relocation. This resulted in the signing of the Treaty of New Echota in December 1835, which ceded Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi in exchange for lands in Indian Territory and other payments. The treaty was signed without the approval of the Cherokee majority or their elected officials, leading to internal strife and the forcible removal of the Cherokee, which is infamously known as the Trail of Tears.