In 1829, Jackson became President. That same year, gold was found in Georgia, which caused a gold rush. This only made white people in the United States want control of the South even more. In 1830, Jackson passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This law said Jackson could give land west of the Mississippi River to Indian tribes if they agreed to give up their lands in the South. The law promised the tribes that they could live on their new lands forever, and be protected by the United States government. By the time his presidency ended in 1837, Jackson had gotten Native Americans to sign almost 70 treaties giving up their land. Almost 50,000 Native Americans moved to "Indian Territory" west of the Mississippi River. However, the government already had a plan to force them into a smaller area, in what is now eastern Oklahoma.