Three things, obviously, could happen. The tribes could be allowed to
retain permanently their great domains, while the white population
flowed in around them; or the lands could be opened to the whites
under terms looking to a peaceful intermingling of the two peoples; or
the tribes could be induced or compelled to move _en masse_ to new
homes beyond the Mississippi. The third plan was the only one ever
considered by most people to be feasible, although it offered great
difficulties and was carried out only after many delays.
The State which felt the situation most keenly was Georgia, partly
because there an older and denser population pressed more eagerly for
new lands, partly--it must be admitted--because lands obtained by
cession were, under the practice of that State, distributed among the
people by lottery. The first move in this direction was to dispossess
the Creeks. As far back as 1802, when Georgia made her final cession
of western lands to United States, the latter agreed to extinguish the
Indian title to lands within the State whenever it could be done
"peaceably and on reasonable terms.
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