 First
written constitution in
Oklahoma.
 Legislative=unicameral, 10 reps
from 3 districts
 Executive=3 district chiefs, 4
year terms, lighthorse of 18
peace officers
 Judicial=3
judges
 Bill of Rights
 At
first, citizens of Choctaw
Nation
 1855, made treaty with Choctaws
to make their own nation
 Constitution almost identical to
Choctaws
 Capital at Tishomingo
 John
Ross and “new” Cherokees
didn’t want to accept
government of existing
Cherokees. They wanted to write
a new constitution.
 June 22, 1839, signers of the
Treaty of New Echota were killed.
 Stand
Watie sought revenge.
Blood feud lasted 7 years.
 Constitution conventions held.
 1840, new constitution
written. Tahlequah is capital.
 Lower
Creeks and Upper
Creeks were divided but got
along.
 Not centralized, almost 50
towns in a confederation each
with a chief and 2nd chief
 National
Council organized in
1840
 1859, first written
constitution, still had division
of Upper and Lower, chiefs
became elected positions
 Least
organized, didn’t want
to join Creeks
 25 towns with chiefs
 Annual summer meeting of
town chiefs
 Some
Seminoles and Creeks
created a colony in Mexico
 1856, Creeks granted
Seminoles independence with
own land
 Farm
sites for fruits and
vegetables
 Fields of cotton
 Slavery=less harsh in Indian
Territory, some could marry
and have property
 Choctaw slaves composed
“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”
 Ranching=cattle,
sheep, goats,
horses, hogs
 Commerce evolved and towns
grew as trading centers
 Manufacturing
 Transportation=
◦ Texas Road-Highway 69
(northeast/southwest)
◦ California Trail (east/west)
◦ Butterfield Road (stagecoach line
to link St.Louis and Los Angeles)
◦ Red and Arkansas Rivers by
keelboats and steamboats
 Traditional
 Presbyterian:
ABCFM, Byington
and Worcester, Wheelock Church
 Baptist: opposed slavery
 Methodist: circuit-riding
preachers
 Moravians
 Many
female missionaries
 Missionaries taught the
gospel, practiced medicine,
opposed alcohol, advised
tribal leaders, converted
languages into written form,
opened schools
 Almost
every mission had a
day school
 Boarding schools created
 Used annuities from treaties
and mission funds
 Reading,
writing, math,
history, Latin, Greek,
philosophy, biology,
astronomy and the Bible
 Vocational training too
 Cherokees separated church
and state
 Interaction
with each other,
western tribes, and US
government.
 International councils to discuss
problems.
 Problems with Mexico and Texas.
 New forts created