Cherokee Indian Greed

Cherokee Indians have been around for many years, but when the topic of Native Americans is discussed it is only about the struggles and hardships they went through but never their actual culture of how and where they originated or how they came to be. There are many interesting things to learn about Cherokee Indians such as their heritage, religion, language, and their traditional songs, dances, and food.

The political and military arguments for the removal of the Cherokee Indians for Georgia were that they are not civilized in their community and the military is getting stronger. The Cherokee Indians not becoming civilized in the community demonstrate that the Indians are being forced into a plan they did not sign up for. “If they continue barbarous, they are forcibly removed: if they attempt to civilize themselves (Document F).” The community is not treating them like they should be treated, so the Indians feel that they are excluded from them that is why they are being more active. The government is trying to force the colonist and the Indians together in one place.

There has always been a big debate on whether the Cherokee Indians should have or should not have been removed from the land they resided on. Although the common consensus of the whites was for removal, and for the Cherokees it was against removal, there were some individuals on each side that disagreed with their groups’ decision. The Cherokee Indians should have been removed from their homeland because the Cherokees would not have been able to survive on their own with the way they were living, they would not have been able to exist amidst a white population, and if they were removed, the whites would have helped them create a new and prosperous civilization.

For centuries Indians occupied what is today known as Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and North Carolina, thriving and prospering there (History-Trail of Tears). The Cherokee Indians lived peacefully in the Southern Appalachians until Europeans settled on their land in 1540 (Perdue 2). Although the Europeans saw themselves as superior to the Cherokees because they were more civilized, the two actually had similar beliefs and upbringings. Both the Cherokee Tribe and the Europeans believed that their land had been made for them by their individual gods and that this land was flawless; however, both of the group’s ancestors became greedy and subsequently lost their particular land. For the Europeans, this is the story

The common theme connecting the Columbian Expedition, the American Revolution, and Manifest Destiny is greed. The aspiration to achieve something, whether it be fame, wealth, or land, compelled the people involved in these events and their extreme want connects them all. As the time in which these events occurred vary, the objects sought and reasons for the desire do as well. However, despite the wide array of reasons, motivations, and items unique to each event, greed is undoubtedly a factor involved in all.

The Cherokee Indians are one of the most well-known American Indian tribes here in the U.S. However, once the Europeans came to the new world and started to expand their territory, this did not bode well for them. Many tribes were enraged by the expansion into Native American lands. Even when the Europeans had promised that they would not encroach onto their lands. Gold was said to be on the lands of the Cherokee and this made the Europeans want to break their promise to the Indians even more so now that they knew that gold was said to be there.

“The Indians had owned the land,” Houston argued, “so the government by virtue of conquest could sell it.” (HOUSTON, P.111). Congress had to go along with this bill for political reasons. The bill when passed acknowledged the Indians’ legal title to their Texas land and at the same time prevented speculators from snapping up the land for white expansion. The bill passed unanimously. Unfortunately Houston’s revenge for the Cherokees was short-lived as Congress repealed the bill the next year.

In the 1830 there was an act that pass it’s called the Indian Removal it made the indians tribes move from their land. According to the text the cherokee leader sign the treaty of etocha to agree to move the cherokee but 90% percent of the cherokee didn’t want to leave. What should the best way for the cherokee to decide? We should remove the cherokee from their land so nobody gets hurt or kill. Another reason, some of their chief already sign the Treaty of Etocha agreeing them to move. Last reason cherokee killed a lot of people back then so they really don’t deserve it.

Most of us have learnt about the Trail of Tears as an event in American history, but not many of us have ever explored why the removal of the Indians to the West was more than an issue of mere land ownership. Here, the meaning and importance of land to the original Cherokee Nation of the Southeastern United States is investigated. American land was seen as a way for white settlers to profit, but the Cherokee held the land within their hearts. Their removal meant much more to them than just the loss of a material world. Historical events, documentations by the Cherokee, and maps showing the loss of Cherokee land work together to give a true Cherokee

In the early 1800s the Cherokee started their own Cherokee Nation. Some of these Cherokees did not like the fact that white people were invading their land and decided to move out to the west and start their own society. The reason why the white people were coming onto Cherokee land is because of all the gold that is there. The whites began to make friends with the Cherokee so they could get some of the gold. Later the white people decided it was time that the Cherokee people need to be eliminated from the area. This lead to the Cherokee losing their land, farms, and their houses. President Andrew Jackson was the one who caused the removal of the Cherokee people.

The government had made multiple attempts to enforce treaties, but the white settlers would not abide by the treaties. Due to the inability to make the settlers and the Indians coexist, the government set aside land in the western region. It was only made worse when, “In 1829 gold was found on Cherokee land in the northwestern part of Georgia, near what is today Dahlonega. Rumors of gold spread quickly, and white settlers rushed into Cherokee lands to make their claims” (Bjornlund 38). It had been strongly encouraged for the Cherokees to move to the west since 1810, but with the spur of the gold rush in 1829, the Indian Removal Act was passed in 1830. Georgia was the main state for gold, and they were also one of the most aggressive in removing the Indians from their state (Bjornlund 38). In 1828 the government took away all of the rights for the Cherokee people, because they had no rights they could not keep their lands because they could not testify in court to defend themselves or their claims. “Recognizing that they would get no help from the states, John Ross and a group of Cherokee representatives traveled to Washington D.C., to ask for help from Congress” (Bjornlund 39). The Cherokees were requested that the United States Government honor the past treaties to enforce Cherokee land boundaries. “Members of Congress such as Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and Davey Crockett defended the Cherokees” (Bjornlund 39). Sadly, with Andrew Jackson as the President of the United States, the Indian Removal Act was passed, causing all Indians to leave their

The Cherokee attempted to civilize to mirror their American counter parts in an attempt to elude they’re absolute removal. The Cherokee had faith in government, but did not calculate greed, bigotry and biased opposition from those who were overseeing they’re livelihood. The Cherokee had always opposed those who took to emigration, but soon after force the Majority were unwelcomed in a new society. The tribe, cooperated with British forces in hopes of maintaining their ancestral land.

Have you ever heard of the Cherokee Indians? Sure you have! Just as a reminder, they are the biggest tribe, and most known of out of all the Indian tribes there has ever been in the southeast. They are very important to American History and helped shaped us to be the Americans we are today, which is clearly what I 'll be explaining in this paper. Throughout the paper, I 'll tell you everything you need to know about the Cherokee Indians and continue to relate to the thesis.

The Indian race was not supposed to own land in America but in regard they were concentrated in slums adjacent to the cities. Here they were exposed to poor housing, lack of clean water and poor man related work that ranged from fishing and hunting thus they were regarded as second class American citizens. In response to these social status inequalities, the Indians staged demonstrations against the vices and afterwards grated accessibility to land and its resources. The land given to them was of low quality the low quality that they were classified as marginal land s that could not support farming. This shows that the American government was in support of the discrimination against these Indians. In support of the racial discrimination strategy, the state even ensured that no white citizen became poor or bankruptcy by buying their land parcels. These lands were then subdivided to the Indians who were later to be killed by the Americans in their efforts to get the land for their mining activities. The sequence of events showed how discrimination was the main agenda of the

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