Native Americans 1815-1848

1. Native Americans 1815-1848 Libby and Carol

2. Natives in the Constitution • Only mentioned three times in the Constitution • Article 1: excluded Indians “not taxed’ from being counted in the population • Article 1: gave Congress power to regulate trade with Indians • Article 4: treaties made before the Constitution had to be honored after its writing

3. Pre-existing Conflicts with the Natives • Battle of Fallen Timbers- 1794: final battle of the Northwest Indian War • Treaty of Greenville- 1795: Indians gave up claim to most of land in Ohio Valley • Battle of Tippecanoe- 1811: Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa tried to stop American expansion into Indiana and Illinois

4. Assimilation of the Natives • Jefferson had encouraged assimilation and promised Natives citizenship if they could coexist • Between the years of 1819 and 1829, Cherokees had an independent nation within the U.S. boundaries • Indians became farmers • Sequoyah created Cherokee Alphabet • “Five civilized nations”

5. “Five Civilized Nations” • Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, Seminole found in modern day GA, AL, MS, FL • Adopted agricultural economy, republican form of government, institution of slavery because Jefferson had promised citizenship • Cherokee had even created a government with bicameral legislature, election system, court system, and by adopting a Constitution

6. Cherokee’s relationship with Jackson • “…Cherokee nation never again made war against the United States. Indeed, the tribe allied with Andrew Jackson against their old enemies the Creeks and played a major part in his victory at Horseshoe Bend in 1814” (Howe, 343). • Tried to get on Jackson’s good side

7. Jackson’s opinions about Natives • Favored removing eastern Indians to lands beyond Mississippi • Even before he became president, he was involved in persuading and coercing groups to emigrate • “His own attitude toward Indians was that they were children when they did the white man’s bidding and savage beasts when they resisted” (American Stories, 276) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiVXJSXlptY

8. Indian Removal Act • 1830 • Mainly focused on Indians in SE because Indians in the West were under the control of the Spanish • Situation became aggravated when natives found gold on their land in Georgia • Georgia annulled the Cherokee Constitution and had their lands seized. • Alabama and Mississippi follow suit; Unconstitutional

9. Cherokee vs. Georgia • 1831 • Marshall ruled that Georgia could not enter Cherokee lands and remove Indians • Supreme Court sided with Indians but the ruling was not enforced • “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it” –Jackson • Ruling made the Supreme Court look inferior to the executive.

10. Worcester vs. Georgia • 1831-1832 • The idea that prohibiting non-Indians from being present on Indian lands without a license was unconstitutional • Samuel Worcester and other non-Natives were indicted in the supreme court for residing within the limits of the Cherokee without a license and without pledging to support the constitution and laws of GA • Georgia sues them for trying to live under the Cherokee provisions • Worcester argues that the statute violated the Constitution, treaties between the US and the Cherokee nation • Only the federal government can decide what the interaction between the whites and the natives can be so the Georgia act was unconstitutional.

11. Trail of Tears • 1832-1838 • Funds were granted for the relocation of the Cherokee • Given two years to vacate their lands and move to a new territory in modern day Oklahoma • All the tribes in the SE except the Cherokee agreed to evacuate; military force had to be used with Cherokee

12. Travels of the Five Civilized Nations

13. Effects of Trail of Tears • Approximately four thousand out of sixteen thousand died along the way • Cherokee re-established agrarian society in NE Oklahoma, set up new government and signed constitution in 1839 • By 1842, most of the 5 civilized tribes had been moved from their lands and settled in Oklahoma • http://www.lyricsfreak.com/e/europe/cherokee_20051713.html (Song: “Cherokee” by Europe)

14. Anti-Indian Removal • Natives had to rely on white government officials to fight their battles because they weren’t allowed in government. • Protestant women and clergy were the most vocal against Indian Removal. • Jeremiah Evarts creates ABCFM whose purpose is to counter Indian Removal. • Catherine Beecher led women’s opposition to the removal • “…defenders of morality, charity, and family values, women were free to ‘feel for the distressed’” (349, Howe)

15. People to Note • William Henry Harrison: a victor in Battle of Tippecanoe and a representative of the Whigs • Henry Clay: Great Compromiser and a representative of the War Hawks (later becomes a Whig) • John C. Calhoun: secretary of State for Monroe and vice president for John Q. Adams and Jackson (distrustful of minorities and pro-slavery) • John Eaton: Jackson’s secretary of War

16. Picture Sources • http://bookexcerpts.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/andrew-jackson.jpg • http://www.knowledgerush.com/wiki_image/d/d6/JohnCCalhoun.jpeg • http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FqFDV-L66EI/SZ7Ku9zYSMI/AAAAAAAATa4/N6ZMtXsbMiE/s400/Sequoyah.jpg • http://lazerbrody.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/trail_of_tears.jpg • http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Trails_of_Tears_en.png

17. Information Sources • http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3406400954.html (Nov. 8) • http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h321.html (Nov. 11) • http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/johnccalhoun.html (Nov. 11) • Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought : The Transformation of America, 1815-1848. Oxford University Press USA, 2007. 14 November 2010http://lib.myilibrary.com?ID=227069 • Brands, H.W. American Stories. New York: Pearson, 2009. Print.