The Cherokee Removal

THE CHEROKEE REMOVAL: IN-CLASS ESSAY OUTLINES 1.

Elizabeth Taylor, Sally Reece and Nancy Reece are all Cherokees. They believe that the Cherokees that have not assimilated to the white culture are “unenlightened.” The missionaries are trying to preach to the Cherokees that have not yet been assimilated. Catherine Breecher seems to be in favor of the Cherokees because they the Cherokees were on America first and helped the whites when they first landed. Evan Jones is a missionary who was experiencing the journey to the west when the Cherokees were forced out. The common ground is that everyone believes that the Cherokees are uncivilized and that the only way they would get civilized is if they adopt the habits and lifestyle of the whites. a. Elizabeth is a Cherokee that believes that the only Cherokees that are uncivilized are the ones who “dance around the fire.” She takes into consideration the ones that dress like whites and attend Sabbath. She is encouraged that Cherokees will soon get some credibility because the whites were once degraded also. b. Sally believes that the Cherokees will improve because they are building a more industrialized culture. They perfect a language that led to the invention of the printing press. She thinks that the missionaries are helping the Cherokees become more optimistic. c. Nancy mostly talks about school. She says that the kids don’t understand because they only speak Cherokee. She adopted the Christian religion because she tells the other Cherokees that they will go to a bad place if they are not good. She also says that when she asks the other Cherokee children what they think of the whites they reply, “If the white people want more land let them go back to the country they came from” or “they have got more land than they use, what do they want to get ours for.” d. Catherine seems to side with the Indians. She was not directly involved with the Indian removal but stands as a observer. She says that as soon as the fore fathers set foot on the land of the Indians greeted them with food and anything else the whites needed. For example, the first Thanksgiving; if it wasn’t for the Indians that taught the Pilgrims to cook and make food they wouldn’t have survived. She states that when the Americans first landed that they promised the Indians would stay a free, independent nation. The missionaries however, broke that promise by preaching the Christian religion and trying to make the Indians assimilate. e. Evan talks about the journey west when the whites forced out the Cherokees after the Americans saw that some weren’t assimilating. He exposes the negative side about what the Cherokees had to go through. He knew first hand that the

officers were supposed to treat the Indians humanely but did not. He does report that he saw one officer that was somewhat kind. Not only were the Indians forced west, they were also stripped of their belongings. Although the Cherokees begged not to be moved especially during the harsh season, the General never answered. During the move to the West Evan was sure that the sick, the old and the young would be sacrificed. Evan seems to feel bad for what the Indians have to go through but, he still does not respect their culture. 2. Everyone seems to believe that the Cherokees are uncivilized with the exception of Catherine. However, they seem to write that all the Cherokees have potential but, every tone brought by each person is the same in disrespect. 1.

Under the Georgia Laws, Cherokees had no rights. Even though Americans pushed their unjust laws upon the Indian, the Indians never fought back with violence. Cherokees essentially blamed the United States government for the laws placed upon them. William Penn believed that the Cherokees had rights to their land because they were there first and the government promised the Indians they would stay free. However, the government betrayed them. a. Some of the most important Georgia Laws include: that any rules made by any Indian tribe is void, Indians cannot meet in groups such as councils or assemblies, whites living within the limits of the Indians needed a permit and Indians could not testify or bring the whites to court any violation of these law led to jail time or hard labor. b. According to Memorial of Protest Cherokees were robbed of everything they had all under the United States laws. The Government removed the Indians and sent them to the west of Mississippi all for their good. The Government said, it was “To make their situation more comfortable, and to preserve them as a distinct people.” Everything that was once legal all became illegal in the laws of the United States. For example. A Cherokee named Joseph Vann was wealthy because he had apple and peach orchards. His business was so big that he needed to hire outside help to help maintain everything including a white man. Vann hired Mr. Howell to oversee the his land while he was out of town when he returned he found that Georgia passes a law that prohibited any Cherokee from hiring white men. Even though he let Howell go Vann was still prosecuted. The government seemed to intervene every time the Cherokees had things going for them for instance the gold mines. When the Cherokees found gold mines in their lands they decided to work in them, and then all of a sudden Georgia made it illegal for the Indians to work in the mines. Every time the Government slapped a new law upon

the Cherokees they never fought back with violence. The Indians went through the process of filing their complaints legally by filing bills, but the court never voted in their favor. Given the circumstances, the Cherokees essentially blamed the United States government for their suffering. c. Jeremiah Evarts, also known as William Penn, believed that the Cherokees have the right to stay where they live at because the Indians should not have the land that was given to them by their ancestors, taken away. The Indians also have the right to form their own government because they inhabited the land first. Basically, because the Indians were the first to live on the land which is now America, they have should have rights and the Americans cannot take them away. When the Americans first arrived, they promised the Indians their freedom and then they took their freedom away anyways. The Indians then felt betrayed. 2. Even though Cherokees got all their freedom taken away, they never used force to justify that they were being wronged. Therefore, even though the United States is supposed to be the free nation, the Cherokees showed more respect for Americans then the Americans did for them, even though the Americans put them through hell. 1.

Lewis Cass absolutely despises the Cherokees because he believes everything about them is barbaric. He says that there is no way Indians can live without the Americans, because the Americans helped them establish a government that would better them. Elias Boudinot and John Ridge both say along the lines of the same thing. They both believe that Indians have lived a long time doing things their own way and that the United States just want to civilized them to control them. a. Lewis Cass believes Indians are barbaric and cannot declare sovereignty because they are not worthy. According to Cass, Indians live life by the “chase”. For example, Indians hunt for their food, if they don’t catch anything they don’t eat. Cass thinks that if someone wants something they should take it or get it another way. Indians don’t take what they want, therefore, they cannot handle being in charge. Cass thinks that because the Indians haven’t assimilated to white cultures they cannot live. b. Elias Boudinot is a Cherokee. He says that Indians have lived in peace and without any problems and do not need the United States to babysit them. Living a so-called “savage” lifestyle was the opinions of the whites. However, Indians were living they way they wanted to and this lifestyle worked for them. Indians were doing fine until the United States was established there. Boudinot argues that Indians will stay Indians no matter how much the Americans try to change them. Indians may adopt a

new way to cultivate land or become more industrialized but they will always stay the way they are deep down inside. Promises by the United States government were broken when the Americans took all the Indian’ rights away. Boudinot also argues that Americans don’t take into consideration that their God invented all nations therefore, in the eyes of the Christian religion all people have the right to be who they are. c. John Ridge backs up Boudinot because he says that Indians had their own form of government that worked well for them. But, for some odd reason, the United States felt like it was their responsibility to step in and establish a new government, the American Government, to help the Indians become civilized although the Indians didn’t need it. 2. In conclusion, the Americans just wanted to control the Indians. The laws the U.S. placed upon the Indian wasn’t to help them but, to keep them in line. The United States wanted to be the big boys on campus and hold all the authority. They didn’t try to assimilate the Indians to teach them better ways, they for their own convenience.