1. Native Americans,
A Timeline of Events

2. Negative Factors on Native American Population:
Guns
Disease: smallpox, chicken pox, measles
Starvation
Enslavement
Government Policies: war, genocide, removal

3. First Americans’ View of Their Environment (read TCI 1.4, p.6)
How did Native Americans believe they were connected to plants, animals, and other natural objects?
Why did they believe this?
If each object in nature has its own spirit, what is each person’s responsibility to these spirits?
Do Native Americans believe people can own land as private property?
Do Native Americans believe in damaging the environment?

4. Virginia Colony (1607) and the Puritans (1620)
formed agreements and treaties with Native Americans
relied on the Native Americans’ knowledge of the land
Puritans: Massasoit and Squanto
Jamestown: Chief Powhatan and Pocahontas
both sides were interested in peaceful co-existence
Puritans: let’s work together and help each other
Jamestown: stay out of our way and we’ll stay out of yours

5. French & Indian War ( )
Native Americans had divided allegiance
supported both the French & British
British defeated the French and left the Ohio Valley
Native Americans had no more allies against the Americans
British/U.S. took control of lands that weren’t really theirs, made decisions about what to do with that land

6. American Revolution (1776-1783)
Native Americans were divided over who to support
Most opposed the colonists
settlers were constantly moving in on native land
13,000+ aided the British, including the Iroquois
those who fought with the British did so to protect their own interests, not to support the British empire

7. Treaty of Greenville (1795)
Signed by leaders from 12 tribes
Chippewa, Delaware, Eel-River, Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Shawnee, Miami, Ottawa, Piankashaw, Potawatomi, Wea, Wyandot
Established “Greenville Treaty Line”
boundary between native territory and land for white settlers
from Ohio to Kentucky
settlers ignored the line and moved where they wanted anyway…just like the Proclamation Line of 1763!!
Native Americans gave up land in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan to U.S.

8. Native American Land
(north of line)
Settlers’ Land
(south of line)

9. Battle of Tippecanoe Creek (1811)
settlers pushed Shawnee out of their tribal lands in Ohio/Mississippi Valleys
Chief Tecumseh & Prophet tried to unite with other Native Americans along the Mississippi River
Used British guns to fight the Indiana militia led by Governor William Henry Harrison at Tippecanoe Creek
led to declaration of war against Britain

10. War of 1812
British tried to keep U.S. out of Canada, fought alongside Native Americans to attack the Americans
Native Americans believed U.S. took lands that it didn’t have a claim to
Tecumseh killed while fighting for the British in Canada against Americans
Native Americans helped Gen. Andrew Jackson win the Battle of New Orleans

11. War of 1812 Results of War of 1812 (Treaty of Ghent)
Weakened Native American resistance
primary leader was dead—Tecumseh
British wouldn’t help them now that war with the U.S. was over
completely forced them out of the Ohio Valley
American promised to stop attacking Native Americans and to give back their property and possessions

12. 1st Seminole War ( )
more conflicts between Georgia settlers and Seminoles over land and trade
Seminoles raided settlements on the Florida/Georgia border
Escaped slaves were protected by Seminoles
General Andrew Jackson invaded Florida
resulted in conflicts with Spain, and later in the Florida Cession via the Adams-Onís Treaty in 1819
U.S. gov’t continued its attempts to remove the Seminoles during the 1830s

13. Bureau of Indian Affairs (1824)
created as part of the Department of War
later became part of the Department of the Interior

14. Inauguration of Andrew Jackson (1829)

15. Jackson’s Indian Policy (read TCI 14.7, p.192)
How had the U.S. government attempted to keep peace between settlers and Native Americans following the American Revolution?
How were Native Americans compensated for their land?
When Jackson was elected, how many Native Americans still lived east of the Mississippi?
Which tribes made up the “five civilized tribes”? What made them “civilized”?
What impact did the expansion of the “cotton kingdom” have on Native American lands?

16. Indian Removal Act (1830)
Passed by Congress, allowed federal gov’t to pay Native Americans if they moved west
DID NOT say that the Native Americans should be forcibly removed
Pres. Jackson sent various gov’t officials to negotiate treaties with tribes in the southeast U.S. for them to leave
Congress created the “Indian Territory” in 1834 to be set aside for transplanted Native Americans
“Indian Territory” located in present-day Oklahoma
Cherokee Nation refused to give up their land and leave

17. Worcester v. Georgia (1831)
Since the 1790s, the federal gov’t had recognized Cherokee Nation and other native tribes as sovereign nations with their own laws
Worcester
Georgia
Samuel Worcester was a missionary working with the Cherokee
Arrested for “failure to have a license”—Georgia required non-Native Americans to have licenses to live on Cherokee lands
Arrested for resisting the Georgia militia’s order to leave
Claimed Georgia had no authority in native territory because the Cherokee were recognized as a separate nation
Georgia refused to acknowledge the Cherokee Nation’s sovereignty

18. Worcester v. Georgia (1831)
Supreme Court Ruling: Georgia had no rights on Cherokee land
Native Americans were protected by the Constitution and their treaties with the federal government
Chief Justice John Marshall
Problem: Jackson disagreed with the court, ignored the ruling
“John Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it.”

19. Cherokee v. Georgia (1832) Supreme Court Ruling:
Cherokee adopted a written constitution declaring themselves to be a sovereign nation (1827)
1784 Treaty with the Six Nations acknowledged sovereignty of the tribes
State of Georgia did not recognize their independent status
The Cherokee were just tenants on Georgia land
Gold was found on Cherokee land, giving Georgia further motivation to get the Cherokee out (1829)
 Supreme Court Ruling:
AGAIN, the Supreme Court ruled
that the state had no rights on Cherokee land
Problem:
AGAIN, President Jackson disagreed with the court,
so he ignored the ruling

20. 2nd Seminole War ( )
Seminoles continued to resist relocation, led by Osceola
Effectively used guerilla tactics for over two years
Four military leaders failed in their attempts to force the Seminoles out
Major Dade; Generals Gaines, Clinch, and Winfield Scott
Major General Jesup brought in to turn things around for the U.S.
Waged a campaign designed to wear down the tribe
Col. Zachary Taylor defeated Seminoles at Lake Okeechobee

21. 2nd Seminole War ( )
Then Col. Worth is called in to wage search-and-destroy missions
many Seminoles surrendered rather than face starvation
most expensive war with Native Americans, longest war in U.S. history before Vietnam—estimated at $40-60 million— ten times more than what the gov’t had allotted for the whole removal!
Seminoles gave up over 100 million acres of land

22. Treaty of New Echota (1836)
U.S. agreed to give the Cherokee new land in Oklahoma and pay them $5 million to relocate in exchange for all Cherokee land east of the Mississippi
not signed by an official Cherokee Council representative, so the Cherokee Nation elders declared it invalid
asked Congress to not approve the treaty, but it passed by 1 vote
Results in the Trail of Tears (1838)

24. Trail of Tears ( )
U.S. agreed to give the Cherokee new land in Oklahoma and pay them
General Winfield Scott forced 20,000 Cherokees to leave their land and walk 1,200 miles to their new “home” in the Oklahoma Territory
4,000-8,000 Cherokees died between and 1838
23-47% of relocated Cherokee died
very controversial decision—not all Americans supported the removal