36D
36d - analyze the events that led to the removal of the Creeks and Cherokees including the roles of Alexander McGillivray, William McIntosh, Sequoyah, John Ross, the Dahlonega Gold Rush, Worcester v. Georgia, Andrew Jackson, John Marshall, and the Trail of Tears
Removal of the Creeks
The Creek community and Georgia were friendly due to the friendship between James Oglethorpe and Tomochichi, chieftan of the Yamacraw Indians. Mary Musgrove sued Georgia from 1736 to 1760 for denial of promised land. Creeks were demanded to cede land. They sided with England during the Revolutionary War. The Oconee war was a series of clashes between Creek and settlers who pushed into Creek territory. The Choctaw, who lived in the newly created states of Alabama and Mississippi, were the first tribes to be moved. This led the Creek to starve. In 1832, the Creek signed the Treaty of Washington in exchange for farmland, but it was immediately broken. |
Removal of the Cherokees
At the same time that the Creek were being moved, Georgia was making plans to get rid of the Cherokee. Georgians wanted to homestead land in order to get gold that had been found on Cherokee land. The Georgia General Assembly wanted to put an end to the Cherokee Nation. They declared that the Cherokee laws were null and void. The General Assembly also passed an act extending authority of Georgia laws to the Cherokee. Native Americans or descendants couldn't testify in court. The state made all citizens sign an oath. Elias Boudinot, Major Ridge and John Ridge knew that a removal was inevitable and signed the Treaty of New Echota, effectively signing over the remaining Cherokee lands. For $5 million, they took their followed and moved west. In 1791, the United States signed a treaty with the Cherokee nation to guarantee respect and protection for the Cherokee nation. However, the discovery of gold near the present day city of Dahlonega led to the final Native American removal from Georgia. |
Alexander McGillivray
Alexander McGillivray was a British colonel and he raided Whig settlements in Georgia and Tennessee during the Revolutionary War. In 1790, he was called by President Washington to New York for peace talks. Chief McGillivray signed the Treaty of New York, by which the Creek gave up all lands east of the Oconee River in exchange for peace. |
William McIntosh
McIntosh was paid $200,000 to give up all remaining Creek lands in Georgia. In 1825, he was persuaded by his cousin, Governor Troup of Georgia, to make a deal with the U.S. government. Later that year, he signed the Treaty of Indian Springs. He signed this treaty without the consent of his tribe. This caused the Red Sticks to retaliate for giving up Georgia land. A rival chief, Menawa, was sent to execute McIntosh. On April 30, 1835, he was shot, stabbed, and later scalped by 200 Creek warriors. This was sent as a warning to others who might want to give Creek lands to white men. |
Sequoyah
Sequoyah's American name was George Gist. Sequoyah's major contribution to the Cherokee culture was developing a syllabary so the Cherokee could have a written language. As a result of this, he was given a medal and was sent all over the territory to teach his method to other Cherokee. |
John Ross
Chief John Ross made several trips to Washington to ask Congress for help. He took a petition to Congress with 15,000 signatures, 90% of all Cherokee people, to protest the Native American removal. He stated that Governor Gilmer and the Georgia General Assembly had violated the 1791 treaty with the Cherokee nation. |
The Dahlonega Gold Rush
The Cherokee were well aware that there was gold in the hills. In 1828, the Georgia General Assembly declared that Georgia state laws were now fully in effect in Cherokee land. A second law, passed on December 19, 1829, refused the Cherokee any rights to gold mined in the Dahlonega area. The discovery of gold in Dahlonega led to the final Native American removal from Georgia. 1000s of white settlers came to Dahlonega, Georgia to get the gold here. |
Worcester v. Georgia
The General Assembly of Georgia announced that any white man who wanted to live on Cherokee land had to sign an oath of allegiance to the Georgia governor. Reverend Samuel Worcester refused to sign the oath of allegiance. He was sent to prison and his case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. |
Andrew Jackson
President Andrew Jackson accepted and signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which moved all Indians east of the Mississippi River to the west of the Mississippi River. He rejected the Supreme Court's order to release Samuel Worcester and he made a famous quote, " John Marshall has rendered his 'decision'; now let him enforce it." This meant that John Marshall could not carry out his decision without Jackson's approval. |
John Marshall
Chief Justice John Marshall of the Supreme Court ruled in the case that Georgia laws and the decision of the Lawrenceville Court could not stand because Cherokee territory was not subject to state law. He ordered Worcester and Elizar Butler be set free, but Judge Clayton refused. President Jackson also refused to enforce John Marshall's order. |
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was the U.S. government's removal of the Cherokee from their ancestral lands and their forced trek to Indian Territory in the dead of winter. In 1838, 14,000 Cherokee were forced to march west to the Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma). They walked 700-800 miles to their new homes. Hundreds of men and women died of cholera, dysentery, and fever while in the stockades, or prisons, that they were put in. The Cherokee were shipped across the Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas River in the summer of 1838.
The Trail of Tears was the U.S. government's removal of the Cherokee from their ancestral lands and their forced trek to Indian Territory in the dead of winter. In 1838, 14,000 Cherokee were forced to march west to the Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma). They walked 700-800 miles to their new homes. Hundreds of men and women died of cholera, dysentery, and fever while in the stockades, or prisons, that they were put in. The Cherokee were shipped across the Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas River in the summer of 1838.