N ATIVE A MERICANS I N G EORGIA The Cherokee and the Creek Indians

T HE C HEROKEE 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

S EQUOYAH ’ S S YLLABARY 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.

T HE C HEROKEE 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.

T HE C REEK Fighting on the Georgia frontier between the Creeks and the settlers became known as the Oconee War.

T HE T REATY OF N EW Y ORK 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.

T HE C REEK W AR 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.

T HE C REEK W AR In 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.

C HIEF W ILLIAM M C I NTOSH 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.

I NDIAN R EMOVAL 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.

I NDIAN R EMOVAL 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.

G OLD IN D AHLONEGA Gold was discovered in Dahlonega, Ga. in 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.

W ORCESTER VS. G EORGIA 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.

W ORCESTER VS. G EORGIA 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.

J OHN R OSS 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.

L OUISIANA P URCHASE Western Boundary: Rocky Mountains Eastern Boundary: Mississippi River Why? The new territory allowed room for the population to expand.

L OUISIANA P URCHASE 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.

T HE T RAIL OF T EARS

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.