1. Indian Removal

2. Background Near the end of the 18 th century, Georgia was home to European settlers, as well as Cherokee and Creek Indians. Many settlers became rich growing cotton on plantations. The settlers viewed the Native Americans in Georgia as a barrier to further exploitation of the regions land. The Creek and Cherokee Indians viewed settlers as intruders who were stealing their land. The struggle between the two groups for control of the Georgia lasted from 1789-1840.

3. The Creek Indians- Alexander McGillivray The son of a European settler and a Creek Indian, Alexander McGillivray represented the Creek Nation throughout the Revolutionary War. McGillivray worked to centralize power within Creek society and to protect Creek lands more effectively.

4. Alexander McGillivray In 1790, the Treaty of New York was signed by George Washington. It ceded Creek Indian lands east of the Ocmulgee River to the US government in exchange for government defense of Creek territorial rights. The treaty created a formal relationship between the US and the Creek Nation, giving the Creek Nation authority to punish non-native trespassers in their territories. In return, the Creeks agreed to return enslaved people who had fled and turn in Creeks who committed federal crimes. The agreement officially recognized the leadership of McGillivray.

5. The Creek Indians-William McIntosh From 1810 to 1820, another son of a European settler and a Native American led the Creek Nation. William McIntosh helped to create a police force, establish written laws, and create a National Assembly for the Creek Nation.

6. Compact of 1802 Meanwhile, settlers in Georgia tried to persuade the U.S. government to remove the Native Americans. In the Compact of 1802, the U.S. government agreed with the state of Georgia to end Native American ownership of lands in Georgia. In the next few years, settlers expanded into Creek Indian lands.

7. Andrew Jackson In response, Creek tribes stole livestock and crops from the settlers. In 1814, General Andrew Jackson led U.S. troops against the Creek Indians. Eventually, the Creeks handed over 23 million acres to the settlers in defeat.

8. End of the Creeks in Georgia In 1825, Georgia agents bribed McIntosh into signing away all the Creek land in Georgia. He was later executed under the authority of the National Assembly for the Creek Nation, by the same police force he helped create. Realizing that the Georgia government would not give in to Creek territory demands, representatives from the Creek Nation ceded all remaining land to the Georgia government. By 1837, 20,000 Creeks were forced to move west, to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

9. The Cherokee Indians-Sequoyah The Cherokee were the quickest of the Native American tribes to take on European ways. Urged by U.S. officials, the Cherokee abandoned their traditional way of life. They adopted a republican government, and a Cherokee named Sequoyah created the Cherokee syllabary, a writing system that allowed the Cherokee to read, write, record laws, and publish newspapers.

10. The Cherokee Indians- Dahlonega Gold Rush In 1827, John Ross became the principal chief of Cherokee. Using the syllabary, he established a written constitution for the Cherokee Nation. Gold was discovered in 1829, in Georgia. A flood of prospectors then began arriving in Georgia during the Dahlonega Gold Rush. The intruding prospectors paid no attention to Cherokee land ownership. The Dahlonega Gold Rush brought more whites into Georgia and increased the desire of the settlers for the removal of Native Americans from the region.

11. The Cherokees and Andrew Jackson In 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected president of the United States. A major issue of his campaign was the removal of Native Americans to Indian Territory to the west. Two years later, Georgia representatives pushed an Indian Removal bill through congress. The Indian removal act gave the president authority to negotiate removal treaties with Native American tribes.

12. Worcester v. Georgia With the help of a handful of white missionaries, John Ross was able to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to protest the removals. In 1831, John Marshall, chief justice of the Supreme Court, wrote in a court decision that the Cherokee were a domestic dependent nation of the U.S. In a case a year, Worcester v. Georgia, the Supreme Court decided that the Cherokee were a sovereign nation, which should be allowed to rule itself.

13. The Cherokees and Andrew Jackson They should also have federal protection from other states laws. Georgia refused to recognize the supreme Courts ruling. President Jackson chose not to enforce the ruling. President Jackson continued to pressure the Cherokee to move west.

14. Trail of Tears In 1835, a rebellious Cherokee group signed a removal treaty without the approval of Ross or other Cherokee leaders. The treaty required the Cherokee to give up their land in Georgia for a piece of land in Oklahoma and money for relocation. Ross protested the treaty to the US government, but President Martin Van Buren responded by sending troops into Indian Territory..

15. Trail of Tears The army rounded up most of the Cherokee people and forced them to leave the state of Georgia The force march of the Cherokee Indians from Georgia to Oklahoma in the winter of 1838 to 1839 is known as the Trail of Tears. It is estimated that 4000 people, one-fifth of the Cherokee population at that time, died from the cold or from starvation during the long march.

16. Summary Explain the events that led to the removal of Creeks and Cherokees; include the roles of Alexander McGillivray, William McIntosh, Sequoyah, John Ross, Dahlonega Gold Rush, Worcester v. Georgia, Andrew Jackson, John Marshall, and the Trail of Tears.