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The Treaty of Fort Adams was signed on December 17, 1801 between the Choctaw (an American Indian tribe) and the United States Government. The treaty ceded about 2,641,920 acres (10,691.5 km2) of Choctaw land. The commissioners reported to President Thomas Jefferson that "for the first time, the bounty of the United States was implored, and we were supplicated for materials, tools, implements, and instructors, to aid their exertions, and to direct their labors ... hope, that by the liberal and well directed attention of the Government, these people may be made happy and useful; and that the United States may be saved the pain and expense of expelling or destroying them."
Contents
Significance for the Choctaw Nation
Although the treaty was originally designed for the creation of the Natchez Trace, it would be the first in a series of treaties that would eventually lead to the expulsion of the Choctaw Nation east of the Mississippi River.
Terms
The preamble begins with,
1. Peace and Friendship
2. Wagon road through Choctaw country
3. Boundary defined
4. Notification of survey
5. Financial compensations
6. When the treaty takes effect
Signatories
James Wilkinson, Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, Buckshun Nubby, Mingo Hom Massatubby.