Paper 5 (Cherokee Petition) PDF

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Cherokee Petition Protesting Removal, 1836 Manifest Destiny was a widely held American belief that America should seek the expansion of democracy. The first reason for expansion was because Americans thought that the strength of American values and institutions justified moral claims to hemispheric leadership. Second, the lands on the North American continent west of the Mississippi River were destined for American-led political and agricultural improvement. Third, they reasoned that God wanted America to accomplish redemption and democratization throughout the world. Americans also thought that if they could get the Native Americans out of the way, there would be a possibility to create a Cotton Kingdom, a massive production of raw materials stretching across thousands of acres worth millions of dollars. After Indian removal, the land would become readily available for white men with a few dollars and big dreams. After Indian removal, land became readily available for white men with a few dollars and big dreams. Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, the federal government implemented several forced migrations of Native Americans. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which granted the president authority to begin treaty negotiations that would give Native Americans land in the West in exchange for their lands east of the Mississippi. President Andrew Jackson believed that he was acting in the best interest of the native people, claiming that it would protect Native American communities from outside influences that jeopardized their chances of becoming “civilized” farmers. The state of Georgia forced the federal government to negotiate with the Cherokee civilization in order to secure land after harassment from local settlers against the Cherokee. Georgia then became impatient with the negotiation process and abolished previous state agreements they had with the Cherokee. The Cherokee appealed to the Supreme Court to defend themselves against Georgia’s laws using lawsuits and petitions. In the Worcester v. Georgia case of 1832, the Supreme Court ruled that Georgia laws did not apply within Cherokee territory. Regardless of these rulings, the state government ignored the Supreme Court and did little to prevent conflict between settlers and the Cherokee. A rift was torn in the nation after President Jackson started negotiating with the secretary of War Lewis Cass to relinquish the Cherokee’s eastern lands. Cherokee leader John Ridge and his followers believed removal was inevitable and pushed for a treaty that would give the best terms. Others, called nationalists and led by John Ross, refused to consider removal in negotiations. To prevent further warring, John Ridge and the portion of the nation that he led signed the Treaty of New Echota of 1835. This treaty ceded lands in Georgia for $5 million, limiting future conflicts between the Cherokee and white settlers. However, most of the tribe refused to adhere to the terms, viewing the treaty as illegitimately negotiated. John Ross exclaimed how they have done everything the US has asked by assimilating to their customs and beliefs but will not give up their land. In The Cherokee Petition Protesting Removal of 1836, the Cherokee argued that the removal process was going against the treaty the Cherokee and US signed in 1802 titled “An act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes, and to preserve peace on the frontiers” which entailed that if the Cherokee nation held no treaty with any foreign power or any individual state, the US would keep the American citizens of their land. However, their protest was ultimately futile. President Martin van Buren, in 1838, decided to press the issue beyond negotiation and court rulings and used the New Echota Treaty provisions to order

the army to forcibly remove those Cherokee not obeying the treaty’s cession of territory. Harsh weather, poor planning, and difficult travel compounded the tragedy of what became known as the Trail of Tears where over 60,000 Native Americans were forced west. 16,000 Cherokee embarked on the journey but only 10,000 completed it....