1. A Bit of Native American History
Indian Removal…

2. “New World” Discovery Native Americans were here first
Columbus stepped off his ship in the Bahamas, beginning of the Columbian Exchange-the interchange of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old World and the Americas following Columbus's arrival in the Caribbean in 1492.
Columbus called the people he met “Indos”, meaning people of India, since that is where he thought he had landed

4. After the American Revolution
1783, The Treaty of Paris, formally ending the American Revolution, is signed by representatives of Great Britain and the United States.
In the treaty, the British cede (give up) all of their North American territories south of Canada and east of the Mississippi River to the United States.
Former agreements between the British and the Indian occupants of these territories are implicitly voided.
The United States now claimed all Indian lands east of the Mississippi River by right of conquest.

6. The U.S. in 1783
About 3 million people, mostly living along the Atlantic seaboard
Native Americans, about 600,000, controlled most of the land west of the Appalachian Mountains

8. Quizlet: What European gave the natives he met the name “Indians”?
What was the “Columbian Exchange”?
Who did the Americans gain independence from?
Who controlled most of the land west of the Appalachian Mountains?

9. George Washington
President Washington and his Secretary of War, Henry Knox, claimed to respect Indian rights
They promised to secure Indian lands through treaty and purchase

10. Meanwhile, in Georgia…
Like many Americans after the Revolutionary War, Georgians developed a huge appetite for land, which was addressed through various means
Headright System
Land lotteries
Yazoo Land Fraud

11. Creeks and George
As settlers pushed into Creek lands along the Oconee River, skirmishes and attacks occurred between the two groups
In 1790, President Washington met with Chief Alexander McGillivray and the Treaty of New York was signed
The Creek gave up all of their lands east of the Oconee River and in return, the US government promised that no whites would go into lands west of the boundary

12. Back in Georgia
When Georgians heard of the treaty, they were enraged because it seemed the federal government had taken the side of the Indians
Neither side paid any attention to the treaty
Then the Yazoo Land Fraud took place and the federal government had to step in and help Georgia with the scandal

13. William McIntosh
As more land was ceded to the government, the Creek tribes lost touch with one another and sometimes signed treaties without asking the tribes to agree
In 1825, Creek Chief William McIntosh and Georgia governor Troup, signed the Treaty on Indian Springs, selling Creek land to the state

14. McIntosh Murdered!
Groups of Creeks who disagreed with the treaty decided that, in accordance with Creek law, McIntosh had to die
The Creek set fire to McIntosh’s home, dragged him from the house, stabbed him in the chest, and then scalped him as a warning to others

15. Quizlet How did George Washington promise to treat Native Americans?
After the Revolutionary War, what did many Georgians want?
What were some of the ways to acquire this?
What did Chief William McIntosh do that caused him to be killed?

16. Sequoyah
Contributing to advancements in the Cherokee culture was George Gist, son of a Virginia scout and soldier, and his mother, who was a Cherokee princess
Sequoyah means “lonely lame one”- he was crippled since childhood
Interested in white man’s “talking leaves”
In 1809 he began to make a syllabary-a group of symbols that stood for whole syllables

17. Sequoyah

18. Cherokee Literacy Sequoyah spent 12 years on his syllabary
Some members of his tribe made fun of him but after he taught his daughter and a few young chiefs to write and understand the symbols in a few days, tribe members changed their minds
By 1830, over 90% of the Cherokee could read and write and were the first to have their own language in written form

19. Dahlonega Gold
After gold was discovered in 1829, gold fever swept through North Georgia
The Georgia legislature passed a law that placed part of the Cherokee land under state control
Later the Cherokee were denied any right to the land or gold

20. Quizlet What was George Gist known as? What did he create?
How effective was his creation?
What was found in the Cherokee region of Dahlonega?

21. Worcester v. Georgia, John Marshall, and John Ross
Most Georgians didn’t care what happened to the Cherokee, but a group of white missionaries did and they were ordered off the land and told to sign an oath of allegiance to the governor
11 people, including Reverend Samuel Worcester, refused to sign the oath and were chained and made to walk from the North Georgia mountains to Lawrenceville, where they were sentenced to 4 years in a state penitentiary in Milledgeville
Worcester took his case to the Supreme Court where Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the decision could not stand because Cherokee territory was not subject to state law
In 1832 the state government had a lottery to give Cherokee lands to whites
Chief John Ross made several trips to Washington to ask Congress for help-he wanted the Cherokee protected and past treaties honored

22. Andrew Jackson
Elected president in 1828 and former friend to Native Americans, especially Cherokee
1830 Congress passed the Indian Removal Act that called for all Native Americans to be moved to the western territories that had been acquired with the Louisiana Purchase
Jackson signed the bill into law but the Supreme Court issued an order protecting the rights of the Cherokee
Jackson refused to honor the Court’s decision and claimed it was a matter for states, not the federal government

24. Removal of Creek and Cherokee
Many Creek refused to leave their land but it was forcibly taken from them, while others went hungry
When Creeks in Alabama and Georgia attacked whites, the US Army forced them to move west
In the meantime, the US became involved in an Indian war in Florida and the Creek helped the US defeat the Seminole
As the Creek were being removed, Georgia was moving the Cherokee forcibly off their land

29. Trail of Tears
December 1835 Cherokee told to come to New Echota and sign a treaty giving up all of their land-Cherokee trader Major Ridge and his son John and a few others agreed
In 1838 General Winfield Scott ordered the removal of the remaining Cherokee who refused to leave their land and many were sent to Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas
A few Cherokee escaped and hid in the mountains of North Carolina
The rest began an 800 mile walk that would leave thousands dead
The Cherokee called the move “ANuna-da-ut-sun’y” or “the trail where they cried”

32. Quizlet What did Reverend Samuel Worcester refuse to do?
How did the Supreme Court rule in Worcester v. Georgia?
What president signed the Indian Removal Act? What did he do when the Court ruled against it?
The Creeks fought with the US Army to defeat what group in Florida?
Some Cherokee managed to escape from north Georgia and hid where?