On December 29, 1835, representatives of the United States government and the Cherokee tribe signed the Treaty of New Echota in New Echota, Georgia. The treaty established terms under which the entire Cherokee Nation was expected to move west to the Indian Territory.

By the late 1820s, the territory of the Cherokee nation lay almost entirely in northwestern Georgia, and around 16,000 Cherokee people lived there. The residents of Georgia were not pleased with the Cherokee living there, and in 1826 the Georgia legislature asked President John Quincy Adams to negotiate a removal treaty. Adams refused their requests because he was a supporter of Indian sovereignty. However, Andrew Jackson, who was a well-known removalist, was elected in 1828. The Georgia legislature again asked for a removal treaty, and Jackson was happy to comply.

Some Cherokee supported the treaty negotiations, because they felt that removal would be inevitable and better terms would be reached if they cooperated. Many Cherokee opposed the treaty, believing that they were entitled to the land in Georgia. After several failed negotiations, the New Echota Treaty was signed on December 29, 1835. The United States agreed to pay the Cherokee $5 million, plus $500,000 for educational funds in exchange for all Cherokee land east of the Mississippi River. Though representatives of the Cherokee Nation signed the treaty, it never had the full support of the Cherokee Nation and became a dividing point among them and a catalyst for the Cherokee Civil War.

The enforcement of the New Echota Treaty and the subsequent mass exodus of Cherokee out of Georgia became famously known as the Trail of Tears, and resulted in the death of approximately 4,000 Cherokee.