In 1822, Governor William Duval requested federal government support to remove the Seminole Indians from Florida. President Monroe used his Executive Power to give Duval authorization, but when the Seminole's made additional demands, Monroe had to reach out to Congress for funding. Congress, obliged, and in 1823, the Treaty of Moultrie Creek forced the Seminole to give up all claims to Florida land and forced them into a reservation in the middle of Florida. Seven years later, under the Indian Removal Act they were forced out of Florida and moved West of the Mississippi.
When the Adams–Onís Treaty was ratified in 1821, the white population was concentrated in St. Augustine and Pensacola with four hundred miles of territory occupied by Indians. Captain John R. Bell, temporary agent to the Seminoles reported that there were about 22,000 Indians and 5,000 slaves held by them in the region between St. Augustine and Pensacola. Most of them were refugees from the Creek War and had no valid claim to the land according to U.S. law. The situation was bad for both the white settler and the Indians, as they competed for the same land. The Indians were unsure of where they could plant crops, and were being supplied by unlicensed traders with alcohol. Then Governor of Florida, William P. Duval wrote to the Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun that this represented a major threat to the white settlements, since they could easily cut off any communication between Pensacola and St. Augustine. Governor Duval, wanted them removed. In his letter he wrote, "If Congress will not agree to move the Florida Indians to the Upper Creeks, to whom they belong, they ought to be sent West of the Mississippi - no treaty ought to be made with them until the country they occupy has been properly explored".
In December of 1822, President James Monroe delivered his annual address to Congress. In his address he called the situation in Florida "serious malady has deprived us of many valuable citizens of Pensacola". By this, I don't think Monroe means the citizens were lost or killed, but rather that it was slowing the settlement of the Pensacola areas. According to Monroe, the existence of the Florida Indians was putting a check on the progress of "those arrangements which are important to the territory". The President, had supported Duval's request to remove the Indians, but suggested that they had extensive claims where the boundaries were undefined. There is no mistaking what Monroe's desire was, when he wrote: "It is essential to the growth and prosperity of the Territory, as well as to the interests of the Union, that those Indians should be removed, by special compact with them, to some other position or concentration within narrower limits where they are." In the summary, Monroe took executive action without waiting for Congressional approval, he instructed Governor Duval to move forward with the removal of the Florida Indians or Seminoles. In August, Duval ordered all the Creek Chiefs to attend a treaty assembly at Fort Marks, but the Chiefs refused. They said they were particularly in want due to a bad harvest and would suffer from hunger without the aid of the Government. The Seminoles were now asserting their right to the lands they occupies, and were beginning to make demands of the US government. This brought any negotiations to a halt. Monroe used his Executive power to authorize the removal of the Indians, but Congress had the power of the purse needed to make it happen. To fully carry this into effect, the President had to now ask Congress to appropriate additional funds.
"It is with great regret I have to state that a serious malady has deprived us of many valuable citizens of Pensacola and checked the progress of some of those arrangements which are important to the Territory. This effect has been sensibly felt in respect to the Indians who inhabit that Territory, consisting of the remnants of the several tribes who occupy the middle ground between St. Augustine and Pensacola, with extensive claims but undefined boundaries. Although peace is preserved with those Indians, yet their position and claims tend essentially to interrupt the intercourse between the eastern and western parts of the Territory, on which our inhabitants are principally settled. It is essential to the growth and prosperity of the Territory, as well as to the interests of the Union, that those Indians should be removed, by special compact with them, to some other position or concentration within narrower limits where they are. With the limited means in the power of the Executive, instructions were given to the governor to accomplish this object so far as it might be practicable, which was prevented by the distressing malady referred to. To carry it fully into effect in either mode additional funds will be necessary, to the provision of which the powers of Congress are competent. With a view to such provision as may be deemed proper, the subject is submitted to your consideration, and in the interim further proceedings are suspended."In the following year of 1823, Secretary of War Calhoun commissioned two agents, James Gadsden and Bernardo Sequi to meet with the Seminole Indians. Gadsden urged the government to remove the Indians from Florida altogether and believed that the tribes would capitulate to whatever demands the United Sates would make. On September 6, 1823 the agents met with the principle chiefs of the Seminole Indians at Moultrie Creek near St. Augustine. The conference lasted several days, and at first the chiefs would not negotiate. After large concessions were made, the Treaty of Moultruie Creek was signed on September 18th. Under this treaty, the Seminole were forced to go under the protection of the United States and give up any claim to their lands in Florida. The Seminole were pushed into a reservation of about 4 million acres in the middle of Florida away from either coast. In return, the United States government would provide farm tools, cattle and hogs along with compensation for travel. Rations would be provided the first year, and $5000 annually for the next 20 years. Finally, in 1830, under President Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Act, the Seminole were forced out of Florida and moved west of the Mississippi.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29464
https://www.bia.gov/cs/groups/xofa/documents/text/idc1-032498.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seminole_Wars
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Moultriecreekreservation.PNG
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