NATIVE AMERICANS IN GEORGIAThe Cherokee and the Creek Indians

THE CHEROKEE

By 1800 most Native Americans made their living in the traditional ways of hunting and farming.

Some Cherokee even lived in English style houses and were converting to Christianity.

Example: Chief James Vann on pg. 192

SEQUOYAH’S SYLLABARY One of the most important contributions to

the advancement of the Cherokee was made by George Gist.

Gist’s Indian name was Sequoyah, which meant “lonely lame one”.

*Sequoyah created a syllabary for the Cherokee language.*

A syllabary was a group of symbols that stood for whole syllables.

THE CHEROKEE

The Cherokee Nation became the most advanced of all Indian tribes.

They created a newspaper called The

Cherokee Phoenix that was distributed all over the South.

The Cherokee capital was established at New Echota, near present-day Calhoun, Ga.

They also adopted a constitution similar to the U.S. Constitution.

THE CREEK Fighting on the Georgia frontier between the

Creeks and the settlers became known as the Oconee War.

THE TREATY OF NEW YORK President Washington called Chief Alexander

McGillivray to the capital to negotiate. McGillivray signed The Treaty of New York that

gave up Creek land east of the Oconee River. In return the U.S. promised that no whites would

settle west of the boundary. The Georgia Settlers were not happy, and

Governor Telfair of Georgia threatened to raise an army against the Creek.

THE CREEK WAR

During the War of 1812 many “Red Sticks” fought on the side of the British.

Tecumseh, a Shawnee leader, tried to unite all the Indian tribes in the Southeast.

The Creek tribes split over the issue, the Creek that wanted war were called the Red Sticks, those who wanted peace were the White Sticks.

THE CREEK WAR In 1813 1000 Red Sticks attacked Ft. Mims in

Alabama killing 400 people. Troops from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia

began attacking Creeks all over the South. The last battle was at Horseshoe Bend along the

Tallapoosa River in Alabama. Andrew Jackson led 2000 troops along with White

Sticks defeated the last of the Red Sticks. The Creek owned no more land in southern Georgia.

CHIEF WILLIAM MCINTOSH

The Creek were continuing to lose land as many signed treaties giving up their land.

Chief McIntosh signed the Treaty of Indian Springs which paid him and other White Sticks $200,000 for the last of their land.

The remainder of the Creek nation led by Tecumseh, went to McIntosh’s home in Butt’s County, Ga. and killed him.

INDIAN REMOVAL

1828 Andrew Jackson was elected president. Jackson believed the Indians should be

removed from the southern states. In 1830 he convinced Congress to pass the

Indian Removal Act that called for all Native Americans to be removed to western territory.

INDIAN REMOVAL

The Choctaw were the first to be removed. Hearing about the hundreds that died on the

march west many Creek refused to go. After many attacks on settlers the U.S. Army

captured over 1,000 Creeks and forced them to the present-day Oklahoma.

GOLD IN DAHLONEGA Gold was discovered in Dahlonega, Ga. in

1829. Georgia legislators passed laws claiming

Cherokee land so that miners could pan for gold.

They declared Cherokee law null and void and refused to let them speak in court.

WORCESTER VS. GEORGIA Samuel Worcester was a missionary living

in the Cherokee territory and advising them on their legal rights.

Georgia’s legislators were worried about these missionaries and passed a law that required that whites living in the Cherokee land to file for a license. Worcester refused knowing that it was a trap to remove him.

WORCESTER VS. GEORGIA

Worcester along with several others were

jailed.

Worcester took his case to the Supreme

Court and Chief Justice, John Marshall set

him free.

The governor of Georgia refused and had

President Jackson’s support.

JOHN ROSS

Chief John Ross made several trips to Congress to petition for help.

Help was refused and even Davy Crockett the famous frontiersman lost his seat in Congress for going against Jackson.

Ross was president of the Cherokee nation and was very well educated being 1/8 Cherokee and 7/8 Scots.

Argued the case of Worcester v. Ga. In the Supreme Court.

LOUISIANA PURCHASE

Western Boundary: Rocky Mountains

Eastern Boundary: Mississippi River

Why? The new territory allowed room for the population to expand.

LOUISIANA PURCHASE 1803 The United States purchases the

Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million dollars.

France had acquired a lot of debt from war with Great Britain and needed money badly.

By purchasing the territory, President T. Jefferson believed he could solve the Indian problem by moving them to this western territory.

THE TRAIL OF TEARS

THE TRAIL OF TEARS After Andrew Jackson passes The Indian

Removal Act of 1830, thousands of Native Americans were removed from their homeland.

They were forced to march to the Oklahoma territory and over 4,000 Cherokee died along the way of starvation and disease.