Dbq Cherokee Removal

The issue of Cherokee removal was complex, with many different viewpoints. Many Cherokees were opposed to leaving their ancestral lands. Their voices were facets of this debate that are meaningful, especially looking back after their forced removal.

The Cherokees had lived on their land for generations and were clearly attached to their homeland. In 1827, the Cherokee people adopted a constitution much like the United States. In Article 1 Section 1, the Cherokees wrote out the full lands under the ownership of the Cherokee Nation. In this section, they stated, “The boundaries of this Nation, embracing the lands solemnly guarantied [sic] and reserved forever to the Cherokee Nation by the Treaties concluded with the United States, are as follows,

and shall forever hereafter remain unalterably the same.” They believed the Cherokee land was reserved for the people forever. In two petitions, Cherokee women shared their opinion on cessation of the land. In both petitions, the women reaffirmed their desire to remain on their land. In 1817, the women begged them to not cede away any more land and stated, “We do not wish to go to an unknown country [to] which we have understood some of our children wish to go over the Mississippi, but this act of our children would be like destroying your mothers.” They were strongly against the removal, as they felt the land should remain under the control of the Cherokee people. Again, in 1819, the women petitioned the Cherokee men to resist removal. In this particular petition, they claimed that the land was given to them by the Great Spirit to raise the Cherokee nation. Opposition to cessation and removal was strong in many of the Cherokee people.
Following the adoption of the “Constitution of the Cherokee Nation,” a strong reaction developed in the United States, particularly in Georgia.

Many in Georgia desired the Cherokee land and began to pressure them off their land. This tension was covered in the Cherokee Phoenix several times from 1829 to 1831. In the editorial for July 17, 1829, Elias Boudinot discussed Georgia’s policies against the Cherokee people. He wrote, “…After being fostered by the U. States, and advised by great and good men to establish a government of regular law…when we…have established for ourselves a government of regular law; when everything looks so promising around us, that a storm is raised by the extension of tyrannical and unchristian laws, which threatens to blast all our rising hopes and expectations.” The disillusioned editor expressed his disappointment and anger over the backlash the Cherokee people received. This backlash stemmed, according to Perdue and Green, from the realization that the Cherokee people were not, in fact, considering giving up the rest of their land.

Shortly after, the Supreme Court ruled against Georgia in the “Worcester v. Georgia” in 1832. In this decision, the Supreme Court stated, “The Cherokee nation …is a distinct community, occupying its own territory, with boundaries accurately described, in which the laws of Georgia can have no force.” This is notable to the viewpoint of the Cherokees against removal because their sovereignty and rights as a nation

were affirmed. These instances are significant because they illustrate the Cherokee’s commitment to the land and continued belief in their jurisdiction over the land.
Then, within a few years, the New Echota Treaty was signed, deepening the divide between the Cherokee people. While some accepted the removal treaty, most Cherokees remained opposed. In particular, John Ross—the principal chief of the Cherokees during this time—was a strong force for the resistance. In his “Letter in Answer to Inquiries from a Friend,” Ross continually asserts that the New Echota Treaty is not legitimate. Those who signed the treaty were unauthorized to do so and the treaty was “entirely inconsistent with the views of the Cherokee people.” Ross also pointed out that, “Three times have the Cherokee people formally and openly rejected conditions substantially the same as these…[The Cherokee people] are certain not to consider the attempt of a very few persons to sell the country for themselves, as obligatory upon them.” At the time, a lot of Cherokees agreed with Ross—fifteen thousand protested the treaty through petitions. Along with the treaty many considered illegitimate, the removal enrollment process was corrupt and forced Cherokees off their rightful land. The Cherokees sent the “Memorial of Protest of the Cherokee Nations” to Congress to protest the tactics used in removing Cherokees. Many Cherokees were cajoled into enrolling while drunk, causing irreparable damage. Women and children were separated from their husbands. The US Government was clearly involved in these injustices and the Cherokee people were well aware of this fact. In this document, the Cherokees called out the United States—"If the Government of the United States have determined to take the Cherokee lands without their consent, the power is with them; and the American people can reap the field that is not their own, and gather the vintage of his vineyard whom by violence they have oppressed.” This quote clearly shows the continued struggle of the Cherokee against the land-hungry United States. The people do not consent to the theft of their land. Within two years of this document, the situation had only worsened. Those who had remained on their rightful land had been forcibly removed and made to travel the Trail of Tears. The effects of the journey can still be seen and felt by some today. Wilma Mankiller wrote a reflection on removal that is notable in its description of the Trail. Federal soldiers forced tribes from their homes into Oklahoma—thousands died along the way. Many walked the route, some in shackles. Mankiller stated,
It was not a friendly removal.

It was ugly and unwarranted. For too many Cherokees, it was deadly. The worst part of our holocaust was that it also meant the continued loss of tribal knowledge and traditions. ... We regarded the removal as something that happened to our family—something very bad that happened to our family. It was a tragedy. It brought us pain that never seemed to leave.

Many Cherokees had to be forcibly removed via the Trail of Tears. Being forced from their ancestral homeland, along with the horrible treatment and high death toll, greatly affected the Cherokee people. Numerous Cherokees desired to remain and resist removal until the end.

In conclusion, throughout the time period of removal, Cherokees resisted and asserted their control over their land. By the end, the people were unjustly forced from their homeland. In the debate of removal, the voices of the Cherokee people opposed to removal were incredibly

important.

Bibliography

Boudinot, Elias. “Editorials in the Cherokee Phoenix, 1829, 1831,” in The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2005), 138.

Cherokee Women. “Petition, June 30, 1818,” in The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2005), 132.

Cherokee Women. “Petition, May 2, 1817,” in The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2005), 131.

“Constitution of the Cherokee Nation, July 1827,” in The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2005), 60.

Mankiller, Wilma. “Reflections on Removal, 1993,” in The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2005), 184.

“Memorial of Protest of the Cherokee Nations, June 22, 1836,” in The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2005), 169.

Perdue, Theda, and Michael D. Green, eds. The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2005).

Ross, John. “Letter in Answer to Inquiries from a Friend, July 2, 1836,” in The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2005), 154.

United States Supreme Court, “Worcester v. Georgia, March 1832,” in The Cherokee Removal: A Brief History with Documents, eds. Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2005), 81.