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Angelica Parker
Professor Diane White
History 17

1 December 2008

The Removal of the Cherokee Nation

“‘Peaceably and on reasonable terms,’” these are the terms the United States federal

government promised for the removal of the Cherokee Indian tribe from the state of Georgia

(Introduction). This contract of 1802 is made complete after the guaranteed protection the

United States claimed for the Cherokee tribe in particular, in the Treaty of Hopewell in 1785.

The Cherokee tribe, thinking of themselves as having permanent rights to their land,

purposefully began forming to the standards and patterns of the Americans. However, the

Americans soon developed a strong yearning for the land as the War of 1812 had increased the

amount of white settlers. The white settlers of Georgia soon demanded the fulfillment of the

original contract of 1802 stating the promised removal of the Indian tribes from their soil.

Fortunately, for the settlers, President elect Andrew Jackson gains enough votes in 1829 and with

his inauguration follows the promise of Indian removal (Introduction). President Jackson kept

that promise as he effectively used the legislation of Georgia by instituting a new bill and

declaring laws void, ignited the division of the Nation through two Chiefs, and the discovery of

gold in Georgia coupled with popular American ideals to effectively remove “the whole nation of

eighteen thousand persons” and forever cause remembrance of what is known today as the “Trail

of Tears” (Document 43).

Seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, recognized and used the

legislation of Georgia to remove the Cherokee tribe from their land. At the time of when the

President took office, the Cherokee Indians felt assured of their land through the means of the

Treaty of Hopewell in1785. As a result, the Cherokee people began to improve their arts of
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civilization such as the formation of a Cherokee Congress with a court system, chief, and

Constitution (Document 5). Members of the Congress in Georgia believed this to be “the reason

constantly assigned by the Cherokees for their refusal to abandon the country” (Document 2).

The Congressmen of Georgia saw the improvement of the tribe becoming more like their society

as the reason for the Cherokees not leaving. The solution they claimed would be to “instantly

arrest the progress of improvement in the Cherokee country” (Document 2). Congressional

representativesthought the solution to removing the Cherokee would be stopping the tribe from

continuing to become more and more like Americans. A solution that President Jackson

recognized could be done by informing the Cherokee people “that if they remain within the

limits of the States they must be subject to their laws” (Document 5). Jackson recognized the

legislation of the state of Georgia as being the way to effectively remove the Cherokee tribe.

Unfortunately, for the Cherokee tribe, President Jackson saw the 1785 Treaty of

Hopewell as something to terminate by using theGeorgia legislation. The undying support of the

judicial system and the Congress of the South coupled with the support of Jackson, successfully

pushed for the legislation of Georgia to discriminate against the Cherokee people. The same

year that Jackson is put into office a bill of the Georgia Legislature is passed that makes the

Cherokee people foreigners inthe state of Georgia. The bill clearly states, “be it enacted by the

state and the house of representatives, of the state of Georgia… that all laws…be extended over

said portions of territory…and all persons shall…be subject and liable to the operation of said

laws” (Document 6). Therefore, the Cherokee tribe was denied their original promise of being

recognized as their own nation of people within the state of Georgia. In addition, because the

Cherokee people are now seen as foreigners in the state of Georgia, they are denied multiple

citizenship rights that the white citizens had.

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Furthermore, in addition to the Cherokee people getting their 1785 Treaty of Hopewell

extinguished by the Georgia legislator, first Amendment rights are stripped from them as well.

The bill explains, “all laws…made, passed or enacted by the Cherokee Indians…are hereby

declared to be null and void and of no effect, as if the same had never existed…” (Document 6).

The right of the Cherokee National Council to meet, assemble, or and make laws or have any of

their existing laws be even considered is terminated. Moreover, the original plan of the

Cherokee people to not “cede one foot more of [their] land” is not at all encouraged by the bill

(Document 1). The Cherokees are told that they can meet only on an account of selling or ceding

their landto the state of Georgia, thus encouraging them to cede their land.

It is also declared unlawful “for any person or body of persons…to prevent…or deter any

Indian head man, chief or warrior of said nation…from selling or ceding…whole or part of said

territory” (Document 6). Clearly stated,the white settlers are prevented from stopping the

Cherokees from giving up any portion of their land. In addition, the fifth Amendment right of

testifying in court is also extinguished by the bill, making it illegal to testify unless a white

personis present. The Georgia Legislature declares, “no Indian or descendant of any Indian…

shall be deemed a competent witness in any court of this state to which a white person may be a

party” (Document 6).

As clearly seen in the documents, the Georgia Legislature considers the Cherokee tribal

members foreigners and denies them their essential Amendment rights. As a direct result, the

Cherokee people begin to encounter division amongst themselves, as the conditions do not

legally allow them to meet. Another document also affirms the denial of this right stating, “the

Cherokee [are] forbidden to hold councils or to assemble for any public purpose…” (Document

8). Because the tribe cannot meet and the Cherokee National Council cannot meet as well,

except for reasons of selling or ceding land, the tribe begins to no longer have unity. The tribal
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people are unable to all unite their voices together and meet to devise ways to keep their land

instead they aretorn apart. The bill creates these internal divisions of the tribe, divisions that

cause the tribe to essentially loose its voice of unity and become scattered and unheard.

Many of the internal divisions among the tribe came as a direct result from the split

leadership of Chief John Ridge and John Ross. The Cherokee Nation leadership and people split

asleaders John Ridge and John Ross disagreed on the future of the Indians. Chief Major Ridge,

the father of John Ridge, had strong ties to President Andrew Jackson who had “bestowed [him]

the rank of major…for his efforts in a war against a segment of the Creek Indians in 1814”

(Document 22). Due to this tie to the President, the President, the state of Georgia jurisdiction,

and the Congressclosely influenced Major Ridge and his son John Ridge. Because of this direct

influence, Major Ridge and his son received the motivation to sign the Treaty of New Echota

boldly stating, “the Cherokee Nation cedes to the United States all the land claimed by said

Nation” (Document 32). Major Ridge, his son John Ridge, and the remaining Treaty party that

signed the Treaty of New Echota were motivated by the President, the state jurisdiction, and

Congress and given “the unhappy condition of [their] people” as the condition to all sign the

Treaty (Document 22).

The signing of the Treaty of New Echota was extremely ironic given the fact that Major

Ridge himself had written in the Cherokee law that it was treason if any Indian sold their land to

United States, years before. It is even more ironic as the text from the Memorial of A Council

describes in November of 1834: “it is the opinion of Congress that the tide of white population

and the State jurisdiction, which is pressing upon us, cannot be restrained” (Document 22). The

Treaty party behind the Ridges openly admits to being motivated and “[pressed] upon” by the

powers of the Congress and the State jurisdiction of Georgia, to sign a treaty the Major Ridge

originally declared as treason. Both instances, as ironic as they are, set into motion an entire
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series of internal divisions between the Indians that chose to follow John Ridge and those who

wanted to keep their land with John Ross.

John Ross and his followers firmly believed that John Ridge and his Treaty Party held

views that were “diametrically opposite to [John Ross] and [his] friends, who will never consent

to be citizens of the States, or receive any money to buy land in foreign parts” (Document 28).

Because of the division of these two chiefs, those that followed John Ridge moved off their tribal

lands into land in Arkansas and Oklahoma, thus leaving the remaining Indians under now

Principal Chief John Ross. Chief Ross began to petition President Jackson for money and

provisions yet, the President held firm to the Treaty (Document 36). Unfortunately, the decision

of Major Ridge, John Ridge, and the remaining Treaty Party affected the followers of John Ross

as well. The Treaty of New Echota that they signed included a final removal date for the

remaining Indians that was enforced by armed soldiers, and known today as the “Trail of Tears”

(Document 45). “The few, about three hundred, who made the treaty having left the country”

left theremaining eighteen thousand Indians to be forcibly removed. This inhumane tragedy all

spiraled out of the division of two Chiefs, John Ridge and John Ross.

Furthermore, the discovery of gold on the Cherokee land is made known among the white

settlers and the officials of Georgia. The Cherokee were almost immediately stripped of their

right to any of it as they “[are] forbidden…to dig for gold upon their own lands” (Document 8).

As a result, the land desirous white settlers are given the condition of gold and the Cherokee

people to act on their motivation of getting the land. The white people had wanted this land, land

that would provide them withmore cotton plantations and now profit from gold. President

Andrew Jackson certainly had the motivation of pursuing the land for his yeoman farmers.

The greedy motivation in the hearts of the white settlers and their President led to the

public lottery of land lots in the Cherokee territory. The Cherokee territory was soon “mapped
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out into counties and surveyed by state surveyors into “land lots” of 160 acres each, and ‘gold

lots’ of 40 acres…among the white citizens of Georgia by public lottery, each white citizen

receiving a ticket” (Document 8). It is here that Americans are acting upon their motivation of

land by using the condition of the discovery of gold as an excuse. In addition, the Governor of

Georgia, Mr. George Miller, wrote about the Cherokee Indians negatively stating that if they

“were to permitted to take possession of the gold mines…they will become fixed upon the soil of

Georgia” (Document 6). The Governor himself was motivated and acted upon his motivation by

notifying President Jackson in that letter. As a direct result, “by 1833 and 1834 the distribution

of Cherokee lands by Georgia lottery was beginning to have its effect. Georgia citizens began

ousting Cherokees from land and homes to which they had successfully drawn rights in the

lottery” (Document 19).

The cause behind the driving motivation for the tribal land of the Cherokees came from

the popular early 19thcentury American ideals of manifest destiny and assimilation. Manifest

destiny was the American idea that all United States territorial expansion was not only a duty but

also a right. Moreover, Americans strongly believed that manifest destiny was ordained by God,

and thus unavoidable and destined to happen because it was God’s plan for the United States.

The majority of Americans believed this as a sort of way of justifying any possible humane acts

against indigenous tribes like the Cherokee Nation. A popular song sang in Georgia by the white

settlers, the lyrics reading, “all I ask in this creation is a pretty little wife and a big plantation way

up yonder in the Cherokee Nation” affirms this deeply rooted idea of manifest destiny

(Document 3). Manifest destiny cried out demanding the Cherokee Nation a territory considered

by some white settlers as being the promise land.

Joined with manifest destiny was the popular American idea that the Cherokee Indians

had assimilated themselves into American arts of civilization. The despised Cherokee tribe had
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successfully formed a Cherokee Congress with a court system, chief, and Constitution

(Document 5). The assimilation of the Cherokee people caused a deep fear in the hearts of

Americans that the Indians would not leave; itbecame the cause of their greedy motivation. The

American people wanted more and more to remove the Indians that threatened to take away their

promise land guaranteed by manifest destiny. The popular American ideas of manifest destiny

and assimilation were the direct causation behind the motivation to remove the Cherokee Nation.