The “loose association” among the Seminole bands and disagreements among members within the bands gave rise to many unknowns about the intentions behind those who signed the treaty, and those Seminoles in Florida who refused to accept the authority of the chiefs who travelled to the Indian Territory. Furthermore, the African Americans among the Seminoles, including Abraham, were convinced that moving to the Indian Territory, where the Creeks occupied the land, risked re-enslavement. Like many white planters, the Creeks persisted with federal claims on escaped slaves who sought refuge among the Seminoles. The African Americans, Abraham among them, fearing this, worked hard at convincing the Seminole Indians to oppose removal. Abraham insisted that the Seminoles get separate lands from the Creeks to reduce, if not eliminate, Creek claims on the Black Seminoles being their own property. Eventually, refusal to accept the treaty also came from the company of Seminoles who traveled to the Indian Territory because they claimed they were tricked or at least forced to sign the contract under duress. With the universal rejection of the treaty, this created a situation for the federal government to enforce the treaty militarily. Fear of reprisals from the Indians who remained in Florida fueled …show more content…
One of the decisive factors in resistance was the presence and the peculiar position of the African Americans among the Indians. Some of the Black Seminoles, such as Abraham, who were recent runaways from servitude among the whites, feared that attempts by the Indians to leave Florida with their African American members would cause white slave owners to reclaim their human property including long-time freed