N ATIVE A MERICANS I N G EORGIA The Cherokee and the Creek
Indians
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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
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S EQUOYAH S S YLLABARY One of the most important contributions
to the advancement of the Cherokee was made by George Gist. Gists
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.
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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.
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T HE C REEK Fighting on the Georgia frontier between the Creeks
and the settlers became known as the Oconee War.
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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.
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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.
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T HE C REEK W AR In 1813 1000 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.
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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 McIntoshs home in Butts
County, Ga. and killed him.
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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.
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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.
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G OLD IN D AHLONEGA Gold was discovered in Dahlonega, Ga. in
1829. 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.
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W ORCESTER VS. G EORGIA Samuel Worcester was a missionary
living in the Cherokee territory and advising them on their legal
rights. Georgias 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.
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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 Jacksons support.
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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.
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L OUISIANA P URCHASE Western Boundary: Rocky Mountains Eastern
Boundary: Mississippi River Why? The new territory allowed room for
the population to expand.
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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.
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T HE T RAIL OF T EARS
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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.