Records Of The Moravians Among The Cherokees March To Removal Part 3 In Their Own Voice Power To Remove 1828 1830 PDF Download

This is an edited collection of documents related to the removal of the Cherokee Indians. The preface to the collection contends that any gain in territory for individual states through a disregard of treaty agreements will mar the honor of the United States. A message from John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, presented to the National Council and Committee of that nation in July of 1830, discusses the impact of Georgia extending its oppressive laws over the Cherokee territory and President Jackson's refusal to interfere. He suggests that the nation organize for further legal effort in the hope that the U.S. will eventually honor its agreements. Also included is an address by the Council and Committee of the Cherokee Nation to the people of the United States, a final plea for aid against forcible removal. The Cherokees elaborate on the legal efforts of the nation to avoid removal, such as encouraging Jackson and Congress to uphold treaties and laws that would protect the Cherokees from the encroachment of Georgia. The address examines the political relationship between whites and Cherokees from first contact to the present in order to show the legitimacy of the Cherokees' case. They also emphasize that the majority of their people do not want to emigrate and that this has been publicly misrepresented to further political aims. The address is followed by an article from the Massachusetts Journal concerning Andrew Jackson and the Indians which criticizes the President for not doing his duty in upholding U.S. laws and shows the hypocrisy of Georgia for desiring to recognize the fraudulent Treaty of Indian Springs (U.S. and Creeks, 1825) but refusing to abide by official compacts with the Cherokees. Lastly, the opinion of William Wirt, former U.S. Attorney General, dated June 20, 1830, is presented. Wirt argues that the Cherokee Nation is a sovereign nation, that it is not within the jurisdiction of Georgia, that Georgia has no right to extend its laws over the Cherokees and that the laws of Georgia are unconstitutional and void.