Throughout the history of the United States we have seen a huge clash of cultures between European settlers and the Indians. It is obvious that the Indian people were stripped of everything they had and forced to leave the land they loved and lived in. One of the most important moments to remember regarding this clash is the day of May 28, 1830, the day in which the Indian Removal Act was passed. This passed law effectively allowed Congress and the President of the United States (Andrew Jackson) to initiate negotiations for Indian land in the southern part of the county in an effort to begin moving the Indian people westward. The desire for land was the primary reason for Indian removal, and in the early 1600s English settlers established colonies in Jamestown, Plymouth, and other locations. They eventually fought with local Indian populations over the presence and extent of those settlements. (Bowes, 7). What followed the Indian Removal Act was the creation and ratification of the Treaty of New Echota. This newly ratified treaty now allowed our government to forgo negotiations and forcibly remove the Indians from their land because it had been ceded. This treaty was followed by a trail of tears, a harsh, unhealthy and forced relocation to the western part of the country. This historical period was known as "ethnic cleansing". An analysis of this time period shows that the Indian Removal Act was the beginning of President Jackson's Indian relocation and abuse of power, the Treaty of New Ecotah can be seen as a cause and effect that solidified acceptance of the forced removal of the Indians, and the Trail of Tears can be seen as the guarantee of how the “New America” felt about the Indians. In 1830 a fundamental statute… in mid-paper… as the beginning of the removal. Very quickly it became obvious that the Cherokee and other Indians were no longer welcome and if they fought they would be killed. The country they had fought with began to win the war and there was nothing else to do but leave their beloved land. It was now a clear sign to these people that they would be forcibly removed to new lands, and the treaty that had been signed gave our government full power to do so without any question. Congress, President Jackson, and the people who lived with the Indians began to show their true colors, their true thoughts, and their true feelings. They forced the Indians on a deadly journey of starvation, disease, and depression. Between June 1838 and March 1839, approximately 16,000 Cherokees left their eastern homes for new homes west of the Mississippi (Bowes, 68).