Unfortunately, some of the treaties were never ratified, and some were put in place through bribery or by only a small part of the signatory tribes. Additionally, the Federal Government failed to fulfill the terms of many treaties, and was sometimes unable or unwilling to prevent States, or white people, from violating treaty rights of Indians.

By 1871, treatymaking came to an end. The treaties were replaced with agreements that the Executive Branch negotiated and the Congress enacted into law. The move was mostly symbolic and ushered in the beginning of the next era.