History paper on the Cherokees
...’s’ position was lowered in the new government because they were not allowed to vote or represented in the new government. Unlike earlier, they saw their roles deteriorating. Even with the adaptation to the European system, they could not save the land on which they had built their settlements. As early as 1802, the U. S. Government and Georgia stated to push out the Cherokee and take the land. The Louisiana Purchase in 1084 was territory in the west that was bought for the relocation for the eastern Native Americans. A few of the Cherokee stated to move west of the Mississippi River as early as 1818, but most Cherokees refused the move. The Treaty of Hopewell in 1785 had promised they would be able to hold their lands forever (123). In 1828, three major events took place that sealed the fate of the Cherokee Nations. It began when gold was discovered in the land that belonged to the Cherokee in Georgia. This sent a rush of over four thousand whites into the Cherokee territory (123). Federal troops had to be sent to restore order. The second event began when Andrew Jackson was elected president. Jackson strongly favored the removal of the Native Americans to the lands to the west (123). Jackson saw the profit that the Cherokee lands could bring to land speculators. By December 1928, the Georgia legislature passed a bill that stated as of June 1, 1830, all Cherokee territory would be subject to Georgia law. This effectively eliminated the Cherokee constitution and their laws. In 1829, all whites lining in Cherokee territory were required to obtain secure licenses. This was to help expel the white missionaries, who were believed to be helping the Cherokee fight for their land. The fight for the land moved fast, and by February 1830, the House of Representatives had introduced the Indian Removal Bill. This bill started many debates. Hundreds of petitions were sent to Congress, mostly from different religious groups and benevolent societies, which were opposed to the removal. Congress was also concerned. They were genuinely concerned with the welfare of the Native Americans, and Jackson’s political opponents saw this as an opportunity to embarrass the president. This law barely passed on April 23, 1830, in the Senate by a vote of twenty-eight to nineteen. The House, also a close margin of 102 to 97, passed the bill on May 24 of the same year. President Jackson happily signed the bill on May 28, 1830, giving him the power to trade land in the west for lands upon which Native Americans resided in the east (124). Jackson would compensate the Native Americans by paying them for improvements they had made to the land, assist and protect them during their migration west and support and care for them once they reached their destination (124). This sounded easy enough to accomplish, but the Cherokee were divided and only two thousand volunteered moved while the remainder appealed to the Supreme Court. Each of the Cherokee motions to the court was denied. Feeling defeated, a minority of Cherokee signed the Treaty of New Echota in 1835. This treaty stated that they would receive five million dollars and land in the west for their lands in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama. Even thought they fought hard for their land, the Cherokee began their march westward. This march was to become known as the Trail of Tears. More than 2,500 of the Cherokee died before the march even began, while another 2,000 died along the way. Even after they arrived, several hundred perished due to disease and violence. At the time of arrival to their “New Land”, the old land was being sold and distributed among white developers. The question asked in this chapter is, was the president right in moving the Cherokee? If you saw it from Jackson’s point of view; then you could say yes. Jackson saw the country being more profitable without the Cherokee. He saw the Cherokee as primitive in their lifestyle and not willing to progress forward. By this it is implied that Jackson saw how the Indians used their hunting and fishing skills to make a living and that European based society supposedly beyond such means. In Jackson’s eyes, the Cherokee could move west and continue with their way of life. The opposing view would point out that the Cherokees had developed a more sophisticated society. They had adopted several elements of the white culture, including the law and constitution. Jackson had a good way in by using their constitution against them. Jackson made it such that the Cherokee had to live by the European way and not by their own standards. Jackson even wrote that the Cherokee “have neither the intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor the desire of improvement … in their constitution” (126). Jackson never came out and said that he wanted their land; instead he made it seem that he was doing them a favor by moving them out west where they could live as they were accustomed. Unfortunately, the Native Americans were more like the white man at this time than their ancestors. Jackson’s message to Congress was written in 1829. His speech showed how the government pressed the Indians to change their lifestyle and become more civilized. Jackson felt he had saved them from themselves. Since they had started their own government, Jackson felt that our states needed protection from them. Jackson felt they were out of control, and he stated this was against the U.S. Constitution; therefore, he felt the move west would allow them to get back to their previous ways. Jackson wanted to take a stand before they had too much control. Even though Jackson claimed they would not be kicked out of their land, “This immigration should be voluntary…” (129), he also made it clear that if they stated they would follow the white man’s law. Jackson gave a good argument as to why the Native Americans should move west; however, the Cherokee provided logical reasons why they should be able to stay. The Cherokee women, who had accepted their place in white man’s society, petition to chiefs and the warriors in council. The women pleaded for them not to accept this and to fight for their land on which they had raised their families. The women state how God had given this land to them and it was not right to just give it away. They felt that since they had already began their lives there and had proved that they could cultivate their land to reproduce, countering one of Jackson’s arguments, and could follow the white man’s law that council should not sign over their land. A supported of Jackson was William Penn. In November of 1829, Penn stated that the government should burn the existing tre...