Anyone who knew Andrew Jackson's history as a military leader was not surprised by his approach to the Five Civilized Tribes. The Seminole Wars marked one of the bloodiest periods in the history of U.S. government and Indian relations, and Jackson led the American troops involved in that set of conflicts. Jackson's troops entered Florida and attacked the Seminoles in 1816, and then again in 1819, after the Spanish were ousted from Florida by the Adams-Onis Treaty. Hostilities continued until the Treaty of Moultrie Creek, which was signed in 1823 and forced the Seminoles onto a reservation in south Florida.

Artist's representation of one of the battles between Seminoles and American troops.

In 1832, the Seminoles were informed that they would be relocated to Indian Territory if land could be found to suit the tribal leadership. Several Seminole chiefs traveled to Indian Territory in Arkansas, where they signed the Treaty of Payne's Landing. Once the chiefs returned to Florida, though, they claimed that they were coerced into signing the treaty; some claimed that they had not signed it all. A large group of Seminoles left for Indian Territory in 1835, but most of the Seminole tribe remained in Florida.

Throughout Jackson's term, the Seminoles chose resistance over relocation. On December 28, 1835, a group of Seminoles attacked a company of U.S. Army soldiers, killing 107 out of 110 men. The incident, later called the Dade Massacre, demonstrated that the Seminole tribe was prepared to fight. In 1842, large groups of Seminoles were forcibly removed to Indian Territory while an unknown number of tribe members retreated into the Everglades, where their descendants remain today.

Do you understand the timeline involved in Seminole resistance and relocation? See if you can arrange these events into the correct order.