In this activity, students will analyze part of a petition sent by the National Cherokee Council, and signed by 3,352 Cherokee, that urged the U.S. Senate not to ratify the Treaty of New Echota. The treaty set terms for the removal of Cherokees east of the Mississippi River from their land in the Southeast to Indian Territory, part of modern-day Oklahoma. The treaty had been negotiated by a minority party, while the majority of the Cherokee people considered it to be fraudulent. Students will speculate as to the effectiveness of this petition to Congress.
Suggested Teaching Instructions
This activity can be used in a unit on westward expansion, Federal Indian Policy and American Indian Removal, or the "Trail of Tears" specifically. For grades 7-12. Approximate time needed is 25 minutes.
Direct students to begin the document analysis activity individually or in pairs. Do not reveal what the document is, since they will use analysis techniques to understand it.
If students struggle to read the primary source document itself, they may use the transcript provided. After examining the document, they should answer the questions that follow, which will guide them through the process of document analysis:
- Meet the document.
- Observe its parts.
- Try to make sense of it.
- Use it as historical evidence.
If necessary, check in with your students at each step in the process and
model document analysis as needed.
Students should discover that the document is a petition to the Senate. The authors (the document is signed by 3,352 Cherokee) urged the Senate not to ratify the Treaty of New Echota because the Cherokee leaders who signed the treaty on behalf of the Cherokees were not authorized to do so.
After they have finished the document analysis questions, students should click on "When You're Done." They will be presented with the following:
The document you've been analyzing was written after a series of events:
- Indian Removal Act of 1830 – Congress passed, and President Andrew Jackson signed, this act which was the first major step in forcibly relocating American Indian tribes living east of the Mississippi River. The goal was to remove all Native Americans living in existing states and territories and send them to unsettled land in the west.
- Worcester v. Georgia in 1832 – This Supreme Court case established the principle of "tribal sovereignty," saying that the Cherokee Nation was independent from the state of Georgia, with sovereign powers granted by the U.S. Federal Government.
- Treaty of New Echota, ratified in 1836 – A small group of Cherokee leaders signed this treaty with the U.S. Government. It required Cherokees living in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama to leave their land and move to Indian Territory, in what is today eastern Oklahoma. The National Cherokee Council claimed it was invalid because the Principal Chief did not sign it and the Cherokee that did were not authorized to do so.
Make a prediction based on what you know about what was happening at that time. Do you think the authors got what they asked for?
If students haven't figured out exactly what the document is, reveal that it is a petition sent by the National Cherokee Council, signed by 3,352 Cherokee people, urging the U.S. Senate not to ratify the Treaty of New Echota. Explain that the treaty had been negotiated by a minority party, while the majority of the Cherokee people considered it to be fraudulent.
Facilitate a class discussion based on students' predictions about the effectiveness of the petition, revealing ultimately that it was unsuccessful. You may wish to share additional contextual information as well:
Andrew Jackson was elected president in 1828 and pursued an Indian removal policy. Jackson backed an Indian removal bill in Congress, which was the first major step in forcibly relocating American Indian tribes living east of the Mississippi River. The goal was to remove all Native Americans living in existing states and territories and send them to unsettled land in the west.
Members of Congress, including Davy Crockett, argued that Jackson violated the Constitution by refusing to enforce treaties that guaranteed Indian land rights. Nonetheless, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in the spring of 1830. The U.S. government promised to compensate the tribes for the property they abandoned.
Jackson also agreed that the laws of Georgia and other Southern states controlled tribal lands. In 1832, however, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Worcester v. Georgia that the Constitution gave to Congress, not the states, the power to make laws that applied to Indian tribes. Despite this court victory for the Cherokee, Jackson refused to support it and the Southern states ignored it.
The Cherokees were split over whether to accept or resist removal. A small minority believed that the Cherokee could not stop the process and that their only hope for survival was to emigrate west. Cherokee leader Major Ridge led this "Treaty Party." John Ross, the principal chief of the Cherokees, led the tribal government and the majority of the Cherokees, who were opposed to removal.
In 1835, U.S. officials called a meeting at New Echota, the Cherokee capital, to negotiate a removal treaty. While John Ross was in Washington, D.C., the minority Treaty Party signed the Treaty of New Echota in December, 1835. The treaty required Cherokees living in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama to leave their land and move to Indian Territory, in what is today eastern Oklahoma. The Cherokees were to complete their removal to Indian Territory in two years.
The treaty ratification process involves several steps. The President decides whether a treaty is in the nation's best interest, and if so signs the treaty and sends it to the Senate. The Senate considers whether to grant its approval. This requires a two-thirds majority.
The National Cherokee Council claimed the treaty was invalid because the Principal Chief did not sign it and the Cherokees who did were not authorized to create a treaty. The 1836 petition against the treaty that students analyze in this activity, signed by 3,352 Cherokee, urged the Senate not to ratify the New Echota Treaty. The Council wrote that they had "...full confidence that under such circumstances the voice of weakness itself will be heard in its cry for Justice."
Others opposed the treaty as well. New Englanders, religious groups, and missionaries who objected to the policy of removal flooded Congress and the President with petitions and memorials.
Congress responded by tabling the petitions and memorials (laying them aside). The Senate ratified the treaty by a margin of one vote on May 17, 1836, and President Andrew Jackson signed it into law.
All but about 2,000 Cherokees ignored the treaty and refused to move west or begin making preparations for removal. This reaction was encouraged by Cherokee Chief John Ross and continued for nearly two years.
In 1838, Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott was ordered to push the Cherokee out. He was given 3,000 troops and the authority to raise additional state militia and volunteer troops to force removal. Despite Scott's order calling for removal in a humane fashion, this did not happen. The Cherokees were forcibly moved from their homes to Indian Territory – some having to walk as many as 1,000 miles over a four-month period. Approximately 4,000 of 16,000 Cherokees died along the way, a sad chapter in American history known as the "Trail of Tears."
Due to the reports of sickness and suffering during the removal, Chief John Ross petitioned General Scott to let the Cherokee control their own removal. Most remaining Cherokees migrated to Indian Territory under the leadership of Chief Ross.
