Native Americans in Georgia

SS8H5 – The student will explain the significant factors that affected the development of Georgia as part of the growth of the United States between 1789 and 1840.

d. Analyze the events that led to the removal of the Creeks and Cherokees; including 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.

Early History• As early as 1763, the

Creek Indians made treaties to cede land.

• In 1783, when the United States was formed, the U.S. government recognized the Oconee River as the unofficial boundary between the Creek Indians and the white Georgians.

The Oconee War (between Creeks

and settlers)• Unfortunately, many white settlers were

not content with staying on land east of the Oconee River, and many Creeks refused to leave the land in question.

• Creek Chief Alexander McGillivray, met with then-president George Washington in New York, and signed the Treaty of New York in 1790. – Alexander McGillivray was the son of a Scottish trader

and Creek mother. He studied Greek and Latin in Charleston, and he, like his father, was a loyalist during the American Revolution. After the war, he confiscated his father’s Creek land, and became a powerful leader.

• The Treaty of New York firmly established the Oconee River as the official boundary between the Creeks and the whites.

• The Creeks agreed not to move into white controlled territory, and the American government gave the Creeks permission to punish white settlers who moved west of the Oconee River.

• The Red Stick Creeks were named after their red war clubs. Most Red Stick villages were in Northern Alabama, so they are also called the “Upper Creeks.”

• The Red Sticks fought the Americans during the American Revolution (in other words, they sided with the British)

• Later they became violently “anti-civilization.” They killed domesticated animals, destroyed farms, and attempted to get rid of anything that was a product of white civilization.

The Red Sticks

White Sticks• The White Stick Creeks lived

mostly in more southern areas, so they were also called the “Lower Creeks.”

• The White Sticks fought along-side the Americans during the American Revolution.

• They accepted the Government’s “civilization plan” better than the Upper Creeks.

The Creek WarThe Creek War• Red Stick Creeks chose to go to war to

fight for their land claims; White Stick Creeks wanted peace

• Red Sticks attacked Fort Mims, killing more than 400 people (including women and children)

• The Battle of Horseshoe Bend, in Alabama, ended the Creek War in 1814; Andrew Jackson led the U.S. troops

• The Creeks were forced to give up nearly all their land to the U.S. government

Chief William McIntosh• His father was a Tory captain

during the war for independence, and his mother was a member of a powerful Creek family.

• He was a cousin to the Governor of Georgia (George Troup – who wanted the Indians out of Georgia)

• He led American, Lower Creek and Cherokee forces against the Red Sticks in the Creek War.

• Was called “White Warrior” by the Creeks.

• He signed the Treaty of Indian Springs (1825) which gave up Creek lands in Georgia to the U.S.; McIntosh was later murdered (shot, stabbed, and scalped) by rival Creeks for signing the treaty.

The Cherokee• Like the Creeks, the Cherokee tribe

gradually lost land to the U.S. government.– The Cherokee language is Iroquoian, which

means that they originally came from further north and are not related to the Creeks.

– The Cherokee lived in North Georgia, North Alabama, Tennessee, and the mountains of North and South Carolina.

• Unlike the Creeks, the Cherokee made an active attempt to adopt white culture.– Syllabary – first written language by Native

Americans• Created by Sequoyah (George Gist or Guess)• Also called “talking leaves”• Was used in the Cherokee newspaper “Cherokee

Phoenix.”

Elias Boudinott• Publisher of the Cherokee Phoenix

– Bilingual newspaper in Cherokee and English

– The Cherokees published their constitution (based after the US Constitution) in the Phoenix

– Published in New Echota, the Cherokee capital

Other adoptions of white society:

• A Supreme Court – based on the U.S. Supreme Court

• Homes, like settlers’ homes

• And a capital of their nation, New Echota

Gold!Gold!• The discovery of gold in north Georgia (1829)

increased demand for Cherokee land• 1829 -- Thousands of gold seekers rushed to

North Georgia• Cherokees asked the U.S. government for help.• Soldiers were sent, but Georgia leaders were

furious because they did not want the U.S. government interfering. (The State of Georgia even threatened to go to war against the U.S. Government if they didn’t back off!)

Worcester V. Georgia (1832)

• 1828 – General Assembly decided to end the Cherokee nation and declared their laws null and void

• Missionaries who lived among Cherokees building schools and churches were forced to leave the Cherokee nation or sign a Georgia oath of allegiance

• They refused, were arrested, and put in state prison.

• One missionary, the owner of this house, Samuel Worcester, was thrown in prison when he refused to leave the Cherokees. He took the State of Georgia to court.

Removal• 1830 – Indian Removal

Act gave Pres. Jackson authority to make treaties with native Americans

• Jackson called on the Cherokees to relocate or fall under Georgia's jurisdiction.

• What are the Cherokees’ choices?

Worcester V. Georgia (1832)

• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee nation against Georgia and ordered the missionaries released from prison, but Georgia did not obey.

• President Jackson did not enforce the Supreme Court decision.

RemovalRemoval• Between 1832 and 1835,

Cherokees were stripped of their land as Georgia gave it away in land lotteries.

• Many Cherokee families voluntarily moved to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) to begin new lives.

• In Washington D.C., Cherokee Chief John Ross, an attorney, was filing motions on behalf of the Cherokee Nation to the Supreme Court, in an attempt to stop Georgia from giving away Cherokee land.

The Treaty of New Echota

• Back in Georgia, a small group of Cherokees (Major Ridge, John Ridge, Elias Boudinott, and others) felt that they would rather be paid for their land than have it stolen from them.

• They arranged & signed a treaty – The Treaty of New Echota -- in 1835 that paid the Cherokees $5 million in exchange for their land.

• In the treaty, it was agreed that the Cherokees would move to Indian Territory.

Trail of Tears• After three years of waiting for the

Cherokees to leave their land, U.S. General Winfield Scott and the U.S. army rounded up the Cherokees and placed them in stockades.

• Approximately 15,000 Cherokees were forcibly removed to Indian territory by foot, and by boat almost 1,000 miles.

• Around 4,000 died from disease, exposure, or hunger

Those that didn’t go• 22 wealthy mixed families were

given Georgia citizenship but were required to buy back their own land

• 700 to 800 escaped and hid in the North Carolina mountains – the site of the present-day Eastern Cherokee reservation.