Indian Policies
SS8H5.d
Settlers vs. Native Americans
• Struggle lasted between 1789-1840
• Settlers viewed the Native Americans as a
barrier to furthur settlement of the region’s
land
• Creek and Cherokees viewed the settlers
as intruders who were stealing their land
Five Civilized Tribes
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Cherokee – north Georgia
Creek – central and south Georgia
Timucuans- southeast corner of Georgia
Mocama – between Darien and Satilla
Seminole – northeast Florida
Creeks
• Alexander McGillivray- Son of European
Settler and a Creek Indian, fought in the
American Revolution, and represented the
Creek Nation
• McGillivray resented American policy towards
Indians and wanted to protect Creek Land.
• Oconee Wars -land west of the Oconee River,
attacks between Creeks and settlers
• Fought with Elijah Clarke, led him to create the
Trans-Oconee Republic
Treaty of New York
• 1790- Washington invited McGillivray to a
conference in New York City that resulted
in the Treaty of New York
– Treaty ceded Creek land east of the
Ocmulgee River to the US government in
exchange for government defense of Creek
territorial rights
– Created a formal relationship between the US
and the Creek Nation
• Treaty gave the Creek nation authority to
punish non native trespassers
• Creeks agreed to return slaves who had
fled and to turn in Creeks who had
committed crimes against Americans
• Agreement also officially recognized the
leadership of McGillivray
William McIntosh
• Led Creek Nation from 1810-1825
– Son of a European settler and Native
American
– Helped to create a police force, establish
written laws, and create a National Assembly
for the Creek Nation. Wanted to keep the
Creeks unified.
Compact of 1802
• Settlers in Georgia were fighting to
persuade the US government to remove
the Native Americans
• The Compact of 1802- agreed to end the
Native American ownership of lands in
Georgia
• Settlers expanded into Creek land, Creeks
responded by stealing crops and livestock
• Andrew Jackson led troops against Creeks
in 1814
• Led to settlers moving into previously
owned Indian lands
• Creek responded by stealing livestock and
crops from the settlers
• 1814- General Andrew Jackson led U.S
troops against Creek Indians
• Treaty of Indian Springs – February
1825
• Chief McIntosh made an agreement with
the government for the last of the Creek
lands in Georgia
• Government paid McIntosh and some
others $200,000
• Group of Creeks executed McIntosh for
giving away the Creek land
• Creeks realized that the US Government
would not give in to Creek Territory
demands so they eventually ceded all
remaining land to the Georgia Government
• Eventually led to the Creeks handing over
23 million acres of land to the settlers
• By 1837, 20,000 Creeks were forced to
move West, to Indian Territory in
Oklahoma
Cherokees
• Adopted white customs more than any
other Native Americans
– Dressed as whites
– Owned farms and cattle ranches
– Owned slaves
– Had a written language
– Had newspaper- “The Cherokee Phoenix”
– Attended missionary schools
– Had a constitution
Cherokees
• 1827 John Ross became principal chief of the
Cherokee Nation
• 1829- Gold was discovered in North Georgia
– Many prospectors began arriving in Dahlonega in
search of gold
– Gold brought more whites into Georgia and increased
their desire to have the Native Americans removed
from the region
Cherokees
• 1828 Andrew Jackson Was elected
President of the United States
– One of his major issues in his campaign was
the removal of the Native Americans to Indian
Territory in the West
– 1830 Indian removal Bill was pushed through
Congress by Georgia Legislatures
Cherokee Response
• With the help of Missionaries, John Ross was
able to appeal to the US Supreme Court to
protest the removals
• 1831- John Marshall, Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court, wrote that the Cherokee Nation
was a “domestic Independent nation” of the US
• He ruled that the Federal government, not the
states could make laws governing the
Cherokees . This meant that the Georgia law
did not apply
• 1832- Worcestor vs. Georgia- Supreme
Court decided that Cherokee were a
soverign Nation which should be allowed
to rule themselves.
• Stated that they have federal protection
from state laws
• Georgia and President Jackson ignored
the ruling
Indian Removal Act
• Gave Georgia authority to begin the removal
process
• Gave President the authority to negotiate
treaties with Native American tribes
• passage of the act meant the inevitable removal
of most Indians from the states.
• Some Native American leaders who had
previously resisted removal now began to
reconsider their positions, especially after
Jackson's landslide reelection in 1832.
Forced Removal
• Some members of the Cherokee Nation gave up
and signed treaty to move west
• However John Ross opposed the treaty
• Jackson refused to negotiate with the Cherokees
• Federal troops rounded up more than 18000
Cherokees and forced them to leave the state of
Georgia and move west to Oklahoma
Trail of Tears
• 1838-1839- Trail of Tears
– 4000 people, 1/5 of Cherokee Nation died
from cold or starvation during the march
– Among the dead were John Ross’ wife
– Quote from soldier
– ” Murder is murder and somebody must
answer, somebody must explain the streams
of blood that flowed in the Indian Country in
1838. Somebody must explain the 4000
silent graves that mark the trail of the
Cherokees to their exile. I wish I could forget
it all, but the picture of 645 wagons lumbering
over the frozen groung with their cargoof
suffering humanity still lingers in my memory.”
• 1825- Georgia agents bribed ( with $400,000.00)
Mcintosh into signing away all Creek land in Georgia
with the Traty of Indian Springs
• Despite the promise of Governor Troup (His biological
cousin) to protect him, just before daybreak on April
30th, 1825, around 200 Creeks lead by Menawa, one of
the few Red Stick leaders who had survived the Creek
War, set fire to McIntosh's plantation and executed him.
After having been stabbed in the heart and continuously
shot, McIntosh was scalped and his body thrown in the
river. Ironically, McIntosh had planned to leave that
morning to look over land promised to him along the
Arkansas River.