High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Oconee War was a military conflict in the 1780s and 1790s between white Americans and Creek Indians in an area between the Apalachee and North Oconee rivers in the state of Georgia. The struggle prevented the prompt opening of the University of Georgia but in the end, whites prevailed over the natives, and a tradition of coexistence between the groups ended, paving the way for the Trail of Tears. The war also was an impetus for Georgia to ratify the United States Constitution, in order to gain federal help fighting the Creeks.