US History

Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)

Native Americans

Migration

This collection uses primary sources to explore Cherokee removal and the Trail of Tears.

An 1884 map of the land surrendered by the Cherokee Nation to colonial governments and the United States government from 1721 to 1835.

This map shows the former territorial limits of the Cherokee Nation and contains the boundaries of various cessions of land made to British colonies in America and to the United States, according to treaties, during the time from the first contact between Cherokee and Europeans to the Cherokee removal west of the Mississippi River.

Tennessee Governor John Sevier’s 1803 letter to Cherokee warriors asking for permission to build a road through Cherokee territory.

John Sevier writes to the warriors of the Cherokee Nation requesting their permission to build a road through Cherokee territory. President Thomas Jefferson is commissioning the road. Governor Sevier attempts to convince the Cherokee that the road will benefit them more than it will benefit settlers. Sevier tells the Cherokee that the council in Knoxville is waiting for their opinion on the matter. 

Transcription:

Brothers
 
You have just now heard your Father’s the President talk, sent to you and delivered by your brother Colonel Meigs. It is a request from your great Father that a road be opened for the good and benefit of all his children both red and white, and will be more so for our red brothers, as the road will be through their own land and they will have the benefit of the ferries, houses of entertainment and all oppertunities of selling and disposing of their corn meat and provisions of every kind __ The road will be of the same use to yourselves to travel on, to market, and for every other advantage that it can be of to your Brothers the white people, and as the road
 
[page 2] 
road is to be cut out at the cost and charge of the United States it cant be attended with any difficulty on your part. It is a common practice among all nations to allow and permit free intercourse between nation and nation even to those that live at the greatest distance from each other; Our roads our markets and our country is always open to your people to travel through, and I am confident you will not refuse to permit your near brothers and neighbours having a road the nearest and most convenient route to travel to market with their waggons, to remove with their families, to drive their stocks of hogs, cattle, horses and any other article they may wish to carry to market.
 
Your great Father the President makes you such proposals to your interest and such profitable and advantageous offers, that I am confident that you, a wise and prudent people cannot by any means disregard or regret __ Colonel Meigs has explained to you the earnest desire of the President, and how willing he is to render, and has rendered to your people every service in his power, and promoted your interests in the same manner and indeed more so than to some of his White Children. I therefore hope that my red brothers will not discover themselves unfriendly, but do every thing in their power to keep the great white chain of peace for ever clean and bright. We have, now for a long time lived like brothers, ought to live, and I hope that no dark cloud will ever intervene to prevent that happy circumstance. __

Brothers our beloved Council is now sitting at Knoxville, and that Counsel have advised me to wait on my brothers the Cherokees; to assure them that it is the wish of all the good people of Tennessee to always live in peace and friendship
 
[page 3] 
friendship with our brothers the red people. We have not forgot you, and I have come here to avail myself of an oppertunity of renewing our former friendship and good understanding, and to assure you we shall always feel ourselves happy in your prosperity and well doing; hoping you may raise your families in peace & plenty.
 
The Chiefs & Warriors of the Cherokee Nation. 	
 
John Sevier
 
October 17th, 1803

An 1818 talk by Tennessee Governor Joseph McMinn to the Cherokee Council on the Treaty of the Cherokee Agency and plans for Indian removal.

Cherokee Council minutes for May 20, 1818 include remarks from Joseph McMinn, the governor of Tennessee. He appeared before the Cherokee to discuss the Treaty of the Cherokee Agency, which had been signed on July 8, 1817, and the federal government’s plan to remove Native Americans east of the Mississippi River and “civilize” them.

Transcription:

Cherokee Agency 20th May 1818 
To the Cheifs Head men and warriors of the Arcansas and Cherokee Nationnow Assembled at the request of the President of the United States 

Friends and Brothers -- 
It affords me great pleasure even to see so many of you present on this Occasion, and will not be less so to your Father the President of the United States to be informed that so many of his red Children have attended to the reading and explanation of the Treaty entered into last Summer between you and the United States. You have now heard the Treaty read and you have listened well, And I hope by a friendly conversation with each Other, you will be able to give it a proper construction, and to satisfy the minds of those who have never had an Opportunity of being informed of its true intent and meaning; and so soon as that is done it will put a total stop, to all disputes which have so unhappily

[page 2] 
Divided for some time past a Nation of People whose former habits and customs with each Other were well calculated to make them happy, and to restore this disirable Blessing among you formed the greatest part of your Fathers wishes in calling you together; and I am Authorized to require you in his name, to reach out the hand of Brotherly friendship to each Other; as it is by these means a lone [alone] that your existence as a nation can be preserved and to give force to this remark I will introduce the advice of our great and beloved Father General Washington, to his white Children in his farwell [farewell] Talk before his death, he said, United you stand, divided you fall: as much as to say, my Children if you remain like Brothers in your present happy union, you will be able to stand and support your national existance , not only against divisions amongst yourselves, but against all your enimies from the Other side of the big water. His Children have listened to his talk and I call on my aged Brothers now present who have witnessed the rising greatness of this nation, to

[page 3] 
Say wheather you do not believe its present high Standing is much Owing to a friendly disposition towards each Other, which has prevailed amongst the American people both in peace and in war. --
Friends and Brothers. We who are present here have met for purposes which I earnestly hope will produce much good to both red and whites, we all possess equal rights to speak. And I hope now will return home from this place, who either wish to make remarks on the Treaty or to ask questions respecting it, which I promise to answer in the most satisfactory manner, within my power.
Friends and Brothers It is my duty on this occasion to call your attention back as far as the period when your Father Washingtonwas president of the United States; it was him alone that laid the foundation of your past present and future prosperity: his Fatherly eye foresaw the danger to which you would be exposed from his white children living so near to his red childrens settlements: he

[page 4] 
Therefore resolved upon taking such measures with you; as in due time would render you fit, for a state of Civil Society; and make you members of his own great family: to effect this human and generous plan, with the least possible delay he ordered you to be furnished with all the implements of Husbandry; and your women with wheels looms Chards &c to enable them and you to cloathe and feed your families; which he knew could not much longer be done by the Gun and the Bow; as your game was nearly gone. He Ordered Schools to be kept giving light to your minds, not less for the purpose of enabling you to form a correct knowledge of the great Spirit above, than for acquiring the art of reading and writing, without which you would be unable to transact your trade and intercourse with one another.
With these advantages derived from the United Statesyou contented yourselves, until the latter part of the year 1808; when two depu

[page 5] 
tations went on to the City of Washington conducted by your agent Colonel Meigs; One of whom addressed Mr. Jefferson the President of the United States; by expressing a desire to be engaged in the pursuits of agriculture and civilized life; and stating at the same time the impossibility of inducing the Nation at large to embrace those measures; therefore requesting for themselves that their Country should be divided including all the waters of the Highwassee River to the upper Towns, that by drawing their society within small limits they proposed to begin the establishment of fixed laws, and regular Government --
I can not but express the pleasure it affords me to find that the measures taken by your Father the President, for affecting your civilization is the same in principal which you proposed yourselves, you asked about One fourth part of your whole territory to be laid off for you] and the President now asks each Cherokee family to hold in reservation 640 acres: I repeat it again that I am happy to find that a perfect agreement exists with the rulers of both Nations

[page 6] 
As to the best means to be used for your advancement into a state of civilized life; namely by lessening your territorial claims; which will necessarily attract your attention from the Gun and the[?]; and render the farmers life your indispensable pursuit. With regard to the Deputies from the lower Towns, they asked their Fathers permission to form a settlement on the west of the Mississippi and adduced as reasons. 1st That they chose to continue -- the hunters life and secondly they complained of the great Scarcity of Game in the Country in which they then lived. Now friends and Brothers I wish you to listen, while I call your attention to a short consideration, of those applications made by the two Deputations to Mr. Jefferson as it was from them; the late treaty Originated, and in fact from them, has sprung the present situation, and state of your national affairs. I earnestly hope that all former displeasure respecting an exchange of Countries will

[page 7] 
Be forgotten by all parties; and on the part of the United States your Father the President, in his speech to the Arkansas Delegation Stated, that it would be better for his Red, and white Children. that the Cherokees should move west of the Mississippi by which removal he added, that we should be kept more apart; and consequently less liable to quarrels and Bloodshed; which seem to be daily increasing, and threatening the well disposed of both Nations. Friends and Brothers, I beg leave to call your attention to the propositions; made by both your parties, to Mr. Jefferson the then President of the United States, in order to show to you as clearly as I can that there does not exist, nor ever did exist sufficient cause to excite the smallest degree of hatred or jealousy between those who are the friends to an exchange of Countries, and those who are of a different opinion; for it must be remembered that the Deputies from the upper Towns expressed in the Strongest and most feeling terms, their anxious desire to begin

[page 8] 
The establishment of fixed laws, and regular Government; to which the Arkansas people could not or ever did Object. As to your Father Mr. Jefferson then President; your proposals were so perfectfully in accordance with his best wishes for your future happiness; that every aid and Fatherly assistance has been given to you in the most beneficial manner. And with regard to the Arkansas people, they are prosecuting the very plan which they sought for and asked Mr. Jefferson to confer on them; they have found the land of promise, and it has been laid off for them; by Solemn Treaty; and your Father the President now holds out a general invitation to all your Nation who chose to migrate, and adds his Fatherly promise that he will act generously with you and make you prosperous and happy in your new homes in the Arkansas Country; and that he will do justice to those who chose to remain here. Thus stands the situation of both parties, as well defined, as my Judgement, and the narrow

[page 9] 
limits of this talk will afford; and I can not [cannot] forbear expressing a hopeing that as the Treaty which was ratified by the President and Senate of the United States in due form has been read and in part explained; that each party as friends and brothers will permit the Other to act as free men who have a right by the laws of Nature and the original agreement made with President Jefferson to chose and decide for themselves as free and independent people, and on the score of your threatening the lives of each Other, the President has a right from the humane policy adopted and prosecuted, to expect that the education and opportunities which he has given your people, would before this period have taught them lessons of morality at least and that the customs of your ancient Fathers in the Old dark and unlightened ages would at this prosperous period of universal peace between his white and red children, be treated by the rulers of this Nation with the most sovereign contempt and exemplary punishment. Tho' in case it should be Otherwise which I hope the great Spirit will forbid I am authorized in promising the arm of the general Government

[page 10] 
for protection to the innocent and weak and to all who are engaged in lawfull pursuits whether in the business of migrating west of the Mississippi or in agricultural and civilized life on the East side of the Mississippi river. I am instructed to inform you that the views of the General Government are to bring about by fair and honorable means as soon as practicable an entire extinguishment of the titles to the lands held by the four Nations east of the Mississippi in the precise manner it has been proposed to you; and happy for the Cherokee nation it will ever be that they made the first application for an exchange of Countries by which means they have secured one of the richest portions of Country that can possibly fall to the lot of any of their neighbouring Nations, who will yet have to search for a new Country. To prove this last statement to be true as relates to the other three Nations; I state that General Jackson and Governor Shelby of the State of Kentucky are commissioners for holding a treaty with the Chickasaw Indians and General Carrol and Col. McKee(agent) have been appointed to hold a treaty with the

[page 11] 
Chocktaws some time as I presume in the course of the approaching Summer. Friends and Brothers it is my duty to lay the views of my Government before you, so far as they could within my knowledge and to give them a candid interpretation: which I shall endeavour [endeavor] to do on the present occasion as it is one of great national importance. The United States, from which you and I claim protection have in consequence of their growing prosperity became subjects of malice and hatred of some of the rulers of Europe, which necessarily imposes on the rulers of the American people the necessity of placing the whole Country in the best possible State of Defence to effect this ground national Object so far as relates to the parts of New Orleans Mobile &c It has been impracticable whilst such immence tracts of Country remain as a wilderness and this national evil can only be remedied by contracting the limits of Territorial claims of the Nations so as to place those to remain on Reservations upon an equal footing with all Other citizens

[page 12] 
of the United States and the remainder to surrender their claims for which they will receive Other lands better adapted to their interest and state of society and by the regulation the United will combine the whole country on the East side of the Mississippi from the Northern lakes to the Floridas in one compact settlement of citizen - Soldiers from whose industry an Army can be fed and clothed: that would be equal to our countries defence in time of danger. To prove the great advantage that will result from such a state of things when affected I need only call your attention to the distressing scenes of hunger and hardship experienced by General Jacksons army in the late war in which you took an honorable part and felt the incident calamities in common with all others.

An 1818 letter from Cherokee chiefs to Tennessee Governor Joseph McMinn criticizing the Treaty of the Cherokee Agency.

This letter, written and signed by over forty chiefs and warriors of the Cherokee National Council, is dated November 21, 1818, and reacts to the stipulations of the Treaty of the Cherokee Agency, which presented members of the Cherokee Nation with two options: removal or citizenship. Those Cherokee who decided to voluntarily remove themselves would receive tracts of land similar to what they left behind; those who decided to remain in their homes would have to become American citizens and be confined within reservations of 640 acres per head of household.

Transcription:

1818 Letter from Cherokee Chiefs to Gov. McMinn For the Raleigh Register. 
A letter from the Cherokee Chiefs to his Excellency, Gov. Jos. McMinn, in answer to certain communications of his respecting their land and removal to the west. 

In Council near Cherokee 
Friend and Brother, Agency. 
November 21st. 1818. 

Your communication of the 18th inst. was this day read in open council, explained and interpreted to the Chiefs assembled. After deliberating with that attention which its contents justly merited, we have prepared the following sentiments from the centre of our hearts, and though expressed through the organs of unrefined sense, in all the simplicity of nature, incapable of polishing words, you will at once see the sentiments of your red brothers, in their true colors. Brother, we know that we are under the protection of the Government of the United States, therefore are not insensible that we are also dependant on the humanity, generosity, and friendship of that magnanimous Government.

[page 2] 
We feel ourselves bound by the strongest bonds of brotherly and friendly attachment, to observe all our obligations with the U. States in the most inviolable manner. Brother, you seem to express a desire that we ought to keep friendship at home as well as abroad, and to permit all those who wish to emigrate to the Arkansas to exercise their own free will and choice, as well as those who would choose to remain. That principle is so consistent with our sentiments in all our actions, that we are not a little surprised to hear such a recommendation made by your Excellency, particularly when you have had such a fair opportunity of making yourself acquainted with the true sentiments and dispositions of the Nation. The actions of bad individuals certainly ought not to be attached to the nation in any country. Brother, we perfectly agree with you in believing that the Great Spirit is incapable of frowning on the rulers of any nation whose sole object was to promote the best interest of their people. But, most beloved Brother, permit us to ask you in the presence of that Great Spirit, whether we would

[page 3] 
be acting with that humane and honest principle which is capable of producing blessings from that Supreme Power, if we were to accede to your propositions, to compel a whole nation of people, contrary to their free will and choice, to leave the lands of their nativity, which mouldered the bones of their forefathers, and so much esteemed and reverenced by them; and at the same time withdraw from them the means of comfort and support, which all the solemnity of a treaty, - ratified by the highest authority of the Government of the U. States, had provided, by accepting of a pittance which would not be more than one tenth of competency of providing for the general removal? Brother, the idea which you seem to convey respecting the late treaty appears that you are of opinion that the Cherokees of this country are bound to take reservations, or emigrate to the west of the Mississippi River, and no other alternative for their continuance here in common as usual. Brother, we would ask you as a candid man, why did the stipulations of that treaty provide for the taking the census of both nations? - for an equal division of lands, agreeably to their respective

[page 4] 
numbers? It cannot be sound reason to believe that it was proper to take the census of both nations, when all those who took reservations were limited to but 640 acres to each and every head of a family, if it was not intended that the surplus of the lands were to remain in common for the benefit of this nation. The theory upon which you have founded the principles of taking private property for public good * we are not fully capable of comprehending your Excellency’s ideas on that point, unless you mean that the public good requires the acquisition of this country, and that you are determined to seize it. On these points, beloved Brother, how far the disposition of the Government of the U. States are disposed and determined to act towards * The Constitution by which we are bound together, gives to the Rulers the right to take private property for public good, but they are bound in every instance to give the full value thereof. In proof of this General Jackson directed his army to take your property for their support, and I have no doubt that measure was in direct opposition to many of your people, for it even deprived many of them of the means of support; but the public good required that it should be done, and your people have been paid conformably to justice 

[page 5] 
your poor red brothers, you are the best judge; but yet we cannot for a moment withhold our sense of the humane benevolence, and benignity of the U. States, to believe that the country which has been solemnly guaranteed to the Cherokees by them, will be viewed as private property, and the obligations of all their treaties with the Cherokee people, trampled under foot. That there have been faults and neglect agreeable to the admission of your Excellency respecting the not taking of the census X we will not deny, but on our part we are unable to discover any. We have too much respect for the honor of the United States to attribute it to them. X Brothers, you express a wish to know why the census have not been taken in June last. To which I reply, that having been instructed by the Honorable Secretary of War etc. ___________________ X Now Brothers it is very easy to perceive that there is faults on all sides, and as I conceive neither party can be interested, now in fact acquitted of neglect by any defense they can make. I am therefore willing on my part to let the subject go to rest. 

[page 6] 
No, Brother, in them we have the most unbounded confidence. We have had too many proofs of their justice and magnanimity, - of their liberality and friendship, for us to harbour, even for a moment, a suspicion that they would act unjustly towards us. No, Brother, our confidence in the U. States is so complete, that we believe, provided they have inadvertently injured us, by themselves, or agents, that they would redress our wrongs, when made known. Brother, reason and Prudence are the monitors by which all prudent people and individuals ought to be guided. We know however that conscience is but the force of education. Religion is certainly commendable, but the force of our prejudices forbids that you should at once expect to see us embrace yours. We like yourselves found ours upon our prejudices, and follow the religion of our fathers. A different education would beget different prejudices, and, with your education we should, no doubt, adopt your prejudices as well as religion; this however is not to be expected in the pursuit of game in the wilderness.

[page 7] 
We have here the advantages of adopting the virtues of our white brothers, who surround us. Your Excellency is not unacquainted with the progress which we have made in agriculture and civilized life. The benign influence of religion has opened the eyes of many; and we do not believe that the epithet of Savage ought any longer to be applied to the Cherokee nation of people. But with a removal to the west, all our flattering prospect of civilized life must vanish. Brother, with deliberation, candor and good nature, we again inform your Excellency that we have, decisively, rejected your propositions for an entire extinguishment of all our claims to lands east of the Mississippi River. And must again solicit your Excellency to cause the late treaty to be carried into full effect agreeably to the stipulations therein contained, as early as practicable. Brother, we solicit an interview with your Excellency at the Agents office on the 23rd inst. At the acquiescence of your Excellency to this solicitation you will please to cause the cannon to be fired. We have the pleasure of subscribing ourselves, intrinsically, your Brothers and Friends. 

A True Copy. Attest Jn. Ross. Member of the Nationl. Committee

A photograph of a spinning wheel inside a historic home in New  Echota, Georgia.

This 1978 photograph was taken by an unknown photographer inside an historic home at New Echota, the site established as the capital of the Cherokee Nation in 1825. The photograph depicts a variety of implements that would have been commonly used by Cherokee women to process textiles and make clothing for their families. The great wheel or walking wheel next to the window would have been used to spin wool into thread that could then be stretched out and measured on one of the implements standing against the wall, commonly called a weasel. When enough thread was spun, it was dyed and woven into cloth or rugs like the one on the floor. New Echota was an attempt by the Cherokee to establish a U.S.-style government center to avoid continued pressure to relinquish tribal lands to white encroachment. The town was established in 1825 in north Georgia at the headwaters of the Oostanaula River. During its short history, New Echota was the site of the publication of the first Indian language newspaper, *The Cherokee Phoenix*, and a point of assembly during the removal of the Cherokee to lands west on the infamous Trail of Tears. Twelve original and reconstructed buildings remain on the site, operated by Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites.

 A compilation of population and personal-property statistics for the Cherokee Nation as printed in *The Cherokee Phoenix*, June 18, 1828.

In 1824, the legislature of the Cherokee Nation passed a resolution that authorized and appointed eight people to take the census of the Nation. The results of the census, published in *The Cherokee Phoenix*, were intended to show that the Cherokee were “civilized.”

Excerpt of an 1833 letter from John Ridge to Georgia Governor Wilson Lumpkin, urging Wilson to force John Ross into a treaty.

This letter from pro-removal Cherokee leader John Ridge to Georgia Governor Wilson Lumpkin, dated September 22, 1833, criticizes anti-removal Cherokee leader John Ross and suggests that Ross and his followers should be forced into a treaty.

Transcription:

Indian 
Cassville Ga 22d. Sept. 1833. 
Dear Sir, 
I have been intending to write to you on the Indian Affairs for some time, but the press of business in conducting the business of our nation at this interesting period, has prevented. I feel pleasure now to say that our cause prospers, & I believe will result in the general Cession of the Nation. The views taken in a communication by a Gentleman of the bar in the Georgia -- Pioneer on the Cherokee treaty, Should be republished with the correction of misprints in the paper alluded to. John Ross & his party will try -- to outlive the Administration of Genl. Jackson if they are not forced into the treaty, & it now -- depends upon the treaty party to -- take a bold and decided stand. We have gained so much now

[page 2] 
in Georgia & Alabama, that we shall soon organise head chiefs & a regular Council for those two states and close the -- treaty -- However this is conditioned upon the refusal of the Ross party to Join in a general treaty -- He has requested a Conference, and we have accepted it, & it is possible that we may agree to make a General Cession. This Conference will be held it is proposed on the 2d. Monday in Oct. next in the chartered limits of Tennessee -- If that Council passes by with our bringing the parties to an understanding, you may depend upon a vigorous course of measures on our part.

A letter from President Andrew Jackson to the Cherokee Nation  about the benefits of voluntary removal, March 16, 1835.

In this letter, Jackson writes to the Cherokee Nation urging them to give up the fight for their homeland. Jackson argues that the Cherokee people will be much better off if they remove to land west of the Mississippi River. He expresses the hope that they will accept the advice that he claims to give them as a friend. 

An excerpt from the Treaty of New Echota, December 1835, which  led to the removal of Cherokee to reservations west of the Mississippi  River.

The Treaty of New Echota was signed by a minority faction of the Cherokee Nation, called the “Treaty Party,” which consisted of Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot, among others. This excerpt of the treaty contains the articles and stipulations regarding the removal of the Cherokee, the cession of all their lands east of the Mississippi, and the signatures of the above-mentioned Treaty Party as well as that of John F. Schermerhorn, Principal Treaty Commissioner.

Transcription:

Article 1st. 
The cherokee nation hereby cede relinquish and convey to the United States, all the lands owned, claimed or possessed by them East of the Mississippi River, and hereby release, all their claims upon the United States for spoilations of every Kind for and in consideration of the sum of Five millions of Dollars to be expended, paid and invested in the manner stipulated and agreed upon in the following articles. But as a question has arisen between the Commissioners and the Cherokees, whether the Senate in their resolution by which they advised "that a sum not exceeding five millions of dollars be paid to the Cherokee Indians for all their lands and possessions east of the Mississippi River" have included and made any allowance or consideration for claims for spoilations -- It is therefore agreed on the part of the United States, that this question shall be again submitted to the Senate for their consideration and decision, and if no allowance was made for spoiliations, that then an additional sum of three hundred thousand dollars be allowed for the same

Article 2nd. 
Whereas by the treaty of May 6th 1828 and the supplementary treaty thereto of February 14th 1833 with the Cherokees west of the Mississippi, the United States guaranteed and secured to be conveyed by patent to the Cherokee Nation of Indians the following tract of country. Beginning at a point on the old western Territorial line of Arkansas territory being twenty five miles north from the point where the territorial line crosses Arkansas river, thence running from said north point South on the said territorial line, where the said territorial line crosses Verdigris river -- thence down said Verdigris river to the Arkansas river, thence down said Arkansas to a point where a stone is placed opposite the east or lower bank of Grand River at its junction with the Arkansas; thence running South forty four

[page 2] 
degrees west one mile; thence in a straight line to a point four miles northerly from the mouth of the north fork of the Canadian, thence along the said four mile line to the Canadian, thence down the Canadian to the Arkansas; thence down the Arkansas to that point on the Arkansas where the Eastern Choctaw boundary strikes said river, and running thence with the western line of arkansas Territory as now defined, to the South west corner of Missouri; thence along the Western Missouri line to the land assigned the Senecas; thence on the South line of the Senecas to Grand river; thence up said Grand river as far as the South line of the Osage reservation extended if necessary; thence up and between said South Osage line extended west if necessary and a line drawn due West from the point of beginning to a certain distance West at which a line running North and South from said Osage line to said due West line will make seven millions of acres within the whole described boundaries. In addition to the Seven millions of acres of land thus provided for and bound, the United States further guaranty to the Cherokee nation a perpetual outlet west, and a free and unmolested use of all the country west of the western boundary of said seven millions of acres, as far west as the Sovreignty of the United States and their right of sail extend. Provided however; that if the saline or salt plains on the western prairie shall fall within said limits prescribed for said outlet, the right is reserved to the United States to permit other tribes of Red men to get salt on said plain in common with the Cherokees; and letters patent shall be issued by the United States as soon as practicable for the land hereby guaranteed

[page 3] 
And whereas it is apprehended by the Cherokees that in the above session there is not contained a sufficient quantity of land for the accomodation [accommodation] of the whole nation on their removal West of the Mississippi, the United States in consideration of the sum of five hundred thousand dollars, therefore hereby covenant and agree to convey to the said Indians, and their descendants by patent in fee simple the following additional tract of land situated between the West line of the state of Missouri and the

[page 4] 
Osage reservation Beginning at the southeast corner of the same and runs north along the east line of the Osage lands fifty miles to the north east corner thereof; and thence east to the west line of the state of Missouri; thence with said line south 50 miles; thence west to the place of beginning, estimated to contain Eight hundred thousand acres of land; but it is expressly understood, that if any of the lands assigned the Quopaws shall fall within the aforesaid bounds the same shall be reserved and excepted out of the lands above granted and a pro rata reduction shall be made in the price to be allowed to the United States for the same by the Cherokees

Article 3. 
The United States also agree that the lands above ceded by the treaty of February 14. 1833 including the outlet and those ceded by this treaty shall all be included in one patent executed to the Cherokee nation of Indians by the President of the United States according to the provisions of the act of May 28. 1830. It is however agreed that the Military reservation at Fort Gibson shall be held by the United States. But should the U. S.abandon said post and have no further use for the same it Shall revert to the Cherokee nation. The U. S.shall always have the right to make and establish such post, and military roads and Forts in any part of the Cherokee country as they may deem proper for the interest and protection of the same, and the free use of as much land, timber fuel and materials of all kinds for the construction and support of the same as may be necessary; provided that if the private rights of individuals are interfered with, a just compensation therefor shall be made.

Article 4th 
The United States also stipulate and agree to extinguish for the benefit of the Cherokees the titles to the reservations within their country, made in the Osage Treaty of 1825 to certain half breeds, and for this purpose

An 1897 letter from Henry B. Henegar, a wagon master employed by John Ross during the Trail of Tears, describing removal of the Ross Party.

This letter, dated October 25, 1897, dictated by H. B. Henegar and transcribed by his wife, is a response to a request from Ed Porter Thompson for more information regarding the removal of the Cherokee Indians in 1838 and 1839. Henegar, who was employed by John Ross during the removal period, starts his reply to Thompson by describing the place in Bradley County, Tennessee, where the Cherokee he accompanied were collected by the United States troops under the orders of General Winfield Scott. He explains the division of the Cherokee people into smaller groups, called detachments, and the process for each group's removal. Henegar states that all the Cherokee detachments that were collected at this spot in Bradley County traveled the same route to the West through Tennessee and parts of Kentucky and Illinois before crossing the Mississippi River into Missouri. He describes his detachment getting stuck for three weeks in the middle of the Mississippi River when it froze. From there they traveled to the Indian Country in Arkansas where they dispersed and settled. He goes on to describe the events that happened after their relocation, including the creation of a new constitution and the conflict between the Ross and Ridge parties. He also gives an account of the assassinations of several Ridge party members who signed the Treaty of New Echota, though he believes Ross was not involved in organizing these attacks.

Transcription:

Charleston, Tenn 
Oct 25th, 1897. 
Mr. Ed Porter Tompson 
Dear Sir, 
My husband is in receipt of your letter asking information in regard to the removal of the Cherokees from this country. I reply to your letter by his request. Mr H- is now in his eighty-third year, with mental and physical [facultys?] unimpaired with the exception of his eye-sight. Hence it devolves upon me and other of his family to attend to his correspondence, he is never better pleased than when questioned in regard to his experiences with the Indians and takes pleasure in dictating the following.

Charleston Bradly Co Tenn on the Hiwassee river was the starting point and the place where the Ross party was collected. Gen Scott was stationed here with U.S. Troops. The spot where my residence now stands was the Barracks. The regular soldiers were assisted by several companys [sic] of Militia but not much dificulty [sic] was incountered [sic] in collecting them as John Ross’s influence was so great that they came in at his request, he having effected a liberal compromise with the government; the Indians being well payed [sic] for all they possessed, John Ross took the contract for there [sic] removal, which he afterwards let to Lewis Ross who was a better business man than There was suposed [sic] to be ten thousand Indians that went from here, they were divided into detachments of a thousand each. I belonged to the [L. Mr.?] department of the eight called Taylors detachment arrested by red Wall [illegible].
The first detachment started from here in Oct. 1838. There was some five or six days difference between the stard [sic] of the diferent [sic] detachments. I left here Nov 10th. The Indians all went the same rout, we crossed the Tenn at the mouth of the Hiwassee at Blyths ferry went across Waldens Ridge to Pikeville thence to McMinnville then on to Nashville.

[page 2] 
After crossing the river there we went to Hopkinsville Ky crossed the Ohio river at Golconda then throught [sic] Southern Ill to Greens ferry to the on the Miss river. Our detachment was stoped [sic] twenty miles from the river at [Gores ?] encampment, for those ahead to get across the Miss after the way was open we went on to the river and commenced to cross but the river froze over when our detachment was partly across and we wer [sic] detained over three weeks. I having charge of those left on the east side after that we continued our journey through Southern Mo by the way of Springfield thence to Fayeteville [sic] Ark then to the Nation arriving at Park Hill, where John Ross had located himself, on March 25th, 1839. The various detachments disbanded when we reached the Nation, and went to diferent localitys [sic]. John Ross retained me in his employ to sell off the publick [sic] property. He took his family and others out by [Watter ?], having purched [?sic] a steam-boat for that purpose. They started from Chattanooga then called Ross’s Landing; his wife dide [sic] on the way out and was buried at Little Rock Ark. He was kindly received by the old setters that is the Cherokees that had gone out some years previous but not so by the Ridge party. It was agreed on between the old settlers and [Ross?] party that they should go into council on the first of June at Double Springs now Te [blank]the capitol and that all old laws should be wiped out and elect there officers by the people and form a new [constution ? sic]. They met in council as agreed upon but the old settlers backed out and wanted the Ross party to come under them. This aroused the old grudges between the Ridge and Ross partys as the latter felt the former had interfered with the old settlers and had used their

[page 3] 
influence against them, after remaining in ten or twelve days Ross came home without accomplishing anything. Two days later news came over from the mission a mile away, where Boudinot lived that he had been killed. Mr. Ross sent men to ascertain the facts in the case they found him dead lying between the mission and a new house he was having erected. Boudinot had charge of the frontier medicine. That morning three Indians called for medicine and he started to the new house to get it for them, his wife stated that two walked with him and one droped [sic] behind and struck him in the head with a [blank] killing him. Mrs. Boudinot was a white woman and as most excellent lady she directed Rosses men to hasten back and tell him he had best go to the Fort for protection as Standwaty (Boudinot’s half brother) had gone to Flint to get Jack and Sam Bell to raise a company to come and kill Ross for revenge as she did not want any further blood shed. As custodian of frontier property and he felt as if he could not go to the Fort but requested Tom Clark his principal clerk to write to Gen Arbuckle (who was in command at Fort Gibson) to send Troops for his protection. The clerk was so excited he could not write he then directed another he also failed in the attempt, he himself then wrote it and turning around said who will take this. No one replyed [sic], turning to me he said Henegar will you? I answered I would. He then directed me to go to the lot and get the best mule or horse there and get back as soon as possible. I left at one o’clock. It was twenty miles to the Fort. I struck a gallop and kept it up most of the way. I delivered the letter to Gen Arbuckle, he said “Tell Ross I can not send troops there but if he will come here I will protect him,” I again struck a

[page 4] 
gallop and kept it up most of the way gallop and when about half way back the mule I was riding fell down from exhaustion I pulled the saddle from him and went to a home nearby. There I procured a horse and continued my journey reaching P. H. at 5 o’clock. When I got there about fifty armed Indians had arrived to protect Ross by the next morning there was two hundred on the ground that morning Standwaty Jack and Sam Bell cam with their party came in sight on the [horizon?] but finding they were out numbered turned and went around to the mission. We afterwards learned they went to the Fort in the direction of the Fort. by the next day there was six hundred of Rosses friends there armed to [them ?] Ross made a speech in which he advised moderation and to act in the defencive [sic] after he returned Ned Gunter a halfbreed made a war speech and said all in favor of [pursuying ? sic] them to make it knowned [sic] they all gave a grunt and mounted there horses and in pursuit. The Bell party having gone into the Fort no trouble insued [sic] in the meantime it was ascertained that two other signers of the treaty had been killed the same morning in accordance with a secret understanding. Jack Bell was the only signer of the treaty that escaped, he being absent from home. Jack Walker having been killed in Tenn mortally wounded near his home eight miles from the place a few days after the treaty was signed. It was claimed by the Ross party that they had treated away there [sic] land without due authority and it was a law of the general council to if any men or set of men should treat away there [sic] country without being authorized that they should

[page 5] 
be killed at any time or place they should be found. Jack Walker was an educated man, his wife was Miss Emily S. Meggs a granddaughter of Return J Meggs [sic] of revolutionary fame all the signers of the treaty were men of education and considerable wealth. Boudinot in particular was a man of high attainments and generally beloved. The impression was is abroad that Ross was an [overbearing ?] and unscrupulous man. I was in his employ for fifteen months and at all times found him to be an honorable upright man. I am firmly of the opinion that he had nothing to do with putting to death the signers of the treaty. I once heard Sam Houston say that John Ross was as great a statesman as John C. Calhoun, Daniel Wilder, or Henry Clay. He had been [illegible] with him at Washington and in there [sic] younger day at this place.

A photograph of John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation  from 1828 to his death in 1866.

In this image of John Ross, he stands with his right arm resting on the back of a chair. He wears a suit and holds a top hat in his left hand. As Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, John Ross struggled until 1838 against the removal of the Cherokee from the Southeast. Beginning in 1838, however, he was forced to lead the Cherokee through the tragic removal period, which culminated in the Trail of Tears. He remained Principal Chief until his death in 1866.

An excerpt from “Memorial and Protest of the Cherokee Nation,”  written by John Ross and sent to the U.S. Congress on June 21, 1836.

This letter of protest was submitted to the US Congress by a Cherokee delegation led by Chief Ross. It outlines the history of agreements between the US and Cherokee in objection to activities of Georgia against the Cherokee Nation and people. Significant evidence of oppression and mistreatment are offered as evidence of Georgia's overstepping its legitimate authority. The delegation also protests the Treaty of New Echota.

An 1837 message from Brigadier General John E. Wool to the Cherokee Nation warning them of the consequences of resisting removal.

This document is an address from Brigadier General John E. Wool, at army headquarters in New Echota, to the Cherokee, dated March 22, 1837. Wool informs the Cherokee that they have until May 25, 1838 to remove to a territory west of the Mississippi according to the provisions of the New Echota Treaty (signed in 1835) or else they will be forced to remove by US soldiers. Wool threatens them with despicable treatment if they do not cooperate fully and tells them their fate will be even worse than the Creeks, the majority of whom fiercely opposed removal and suffered mightily from exposure and starvation. 

 A map of Texas and Indian Territory, 1879.

This hand-drawn color map shows towns and geographical features of the Indian Territory in 1879.  Some Texas counties, cities, towns, roads, railroads, rivers, creeks, quarries, mills, and topographical features are also included.

Questions

1. Examine the [map of the land surrendered by the Cherokee Nation](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1499). What does this map show? Formulate a hypothesis to explain why Cherokee lands shrink over time. Could there be more than one cause of the tribe’s loss of land? 
2. Use Governor John Sevier’s [letter to warriors](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1500), Governor Joseph McMinn’s [speech to the Cherokee Council](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1501), and the [letter from President Andrew Jackson](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1506) to the Cherokee Nation to summarize the arguments made by representatives of the United States in support of Cherokee removal.
3. Read the [letter from Cherokee chiefs](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1502) to Governor Joseph McMinn, the [excerpt of a letter from John Ridge](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1505) to Wilson Lumpkin, and the excerpt from the “[Memorial and Protest of the Cherokee Nation](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1510).” What arguments did Cherokee people make against their removal? Were these arguments compelling? Why do you think that John Ridge favored Cherokee removal when most of his fellow Cherokee opposed it?
4. Examine the [photograph of John Ross](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1509), the [photograph of a spinning wheel](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1503), and the [compilation of population and personal property statistics](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1504). What do these sources tell us about Cherokee life in the period prior to the Trail of Tears?
5. Consider the excerpt from the [Treaty of New Echota](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1507), the [letter describing the removal of the Ross Party](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1508), and the [message from Brigadier General John E. Wool](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1511). What are some words or phrases that convey what the Cherokee might have experienced on their forced journey to Indian Territory? 

Activity

1. Ask students to use the [map of lands surrendered by the Cherokee](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1499), the [map of Texas and Indian Territory](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/cherokee-removal-and-the-trail-of-tears/sources/1512), and two sources of their choice to write a diary entry (200 to 400 words) from the perspective of a Cherokee who has been forced from their homeland. 
2. Ask students to collect and consider examples in which the US government used eminent domain or other powers to force people from their homes—for example, the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority or Japanese Internment. What sorts of factors are involved in various cases? How do these compare and contrast to factors involved in Cherokee removal? How do the power imbalances involved in the Cherokee removal continue to operate? 

Teaching Guide: Exploring Cherokee Removal

Resources

1. “[Cherokee Removal](http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/cherokee-removal),” New Georgia Encyclopedia. 
2. [Cherokee Removal and the Trail of Tears](http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newnation/10.0), LearnNC. 
3. [The Trail of Tears and the Forced Relocation of the Cherokee Nation](https://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/118trail/118trail.htm), National Park Service. 
4. Sarah H. Hill, “[Cherokee Removal Scenes: Ellijay, Georgia, 1938](https://southernspaces.org/2012/cherokee-removal-scenes-ellijay-georgia-1838).” *Southern Spaces*. 

Overview

By the 1820s, the Cherokee Nation had seen much of their ancestral lands (in what is now the southeastern US) disappear, through treaties with colonial governments and the United States government. Hoping to avoid cultural destruction, several Cherokee leaders—including John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation and John Ridge, the Speaker of the Cherokee Council—led their people into a period of reform called the “Cherokee Renaissance.” By 1830 the Cherokee Nation had adopted a written language and forged a constitution modeled on that of the United States, complete with a chief executive, a representative government, and courts enforcing Cherokee laws. Many Cherokee had converted to Protestant Christianity, lived in nuclear family homes, and farmed the land—sometimes with the labor of enslaved African Americans. 

This same period saw the rise among US citizens of “[Manifest Destiny](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/sets/manifest-destiny),” a belief that white Americans were God’s chosen people, selected by Him to spread the United States from the East to the West Coast, “sea to shining sea.” [Andrew Jackson](https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/sets/jacksonian-democracy), a famous “Indian fighter,” was elected President in 1828, largely on his pledge to move Indian tribes westward to allow the advance of white civilization. Emboldened by Jackson’s stance, state legislators in Georgia passed laws that abolished the Cherokee government, invalidated Cherokee laws, and created a lottery system by which white Georgians could legally take Cherokee homes and land. In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, allocating funds to forcibly remove Native Americans from the Southeast to lands west of the Mississippi River. 

Cherokee leaders could not agree how to respond. In 1835, government negotiators took advantage of their factionalism and persuaded a small group, led by John Ridge and his father Major Ridge, to sign the Treaty of New Echota—which ordered the Cherokee to remove themselves from their homes and relocate to land west of the Mississippi River. This primary source set uses documents, images, and music to reveal the story of Cherokee removal, which is part of a larger story known as the Trail of Tears. Thousands of Native Americans—Chickasaw, Creek Choctaw, Seminole, and Cherokee—suffered through this forced relocation.

English

Cherokee Removal and the Trail of Tears

cherokee-removal_01_35b35b794c8f639d385d80e2033ee9a3.jpg

Courtesy of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill via North Carolina Digital Heritage Center.

Royce, Charles C., “Map of the former territorial limits of the Cherokee ‘Nation of’ Indians,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/35b35b794c8f639d385d80e2033ee9a3.

An 1884 map of the land surrendered by the Cherokee Nation to colonial governments and the United States government from 1721 to 1835.

Cite this item

Tips for Students

Item 1 of 14 in the Primary Source Set Cherokee Removal and the Trail of Tears