The Pros And Cons Of The Freedmen Controversy

The debate over the legality of sovereignty and acquired lands from the native Americans, specifically the Cherokee, has long been debated. The issues involved have included treaties, land sold, and the right of the Government to physically enforce their rules on Indian land "sovereignty". This paper will examine the strategy used by the Federal Governments, the State Governments as well as those of the Cherokee Indians. The three-way relationship as well as the issues will examine how the interpretation of the Constitution changed society prior to the year of 1840.

American Indians have been discriminated against since the Europeans came to North America. They were driven from their homes and forced to surrender their land. They tried to build an alliance with France during the Revolutionary war, but ultimately they were defeated by the English. From then on, they were referred to as “savages”. The Proclamation of 1763 tried to separate the Native American land from the American colonial land. In the end, the American Indians lost their land and were forced to occupy smaller land areas, referred to as reservations, which were given to them through treaties. In 1979, a report from America’s Compliance with Human Rights Accords stated that

Nearly every aspect of American history involves white supremacy. Upon the discovery of the Americas, the Europeans believed they entered into a land inhabited by savages (Boyer 20). According to President Jackson, the mistreatment of the Indians was to “kill the Indian, but save the man” (Williams) in order to purify America. They were forced to adapt to the dominate society or be killed. According to Wiethaus, “the Trail of Tears is a story of tragedy far overshadows the longer term economic consequences of Indian land for the United States economy and the disruption of individual lives for those dispossessed of their homes” (29). The Columbian Exchange involved the slavery of Africans which later became an issue during the 1800’s once the colonies formed into states. African-Americans did not receive emancipation until after the civil war. Before then, slavery was at the heart of the Commercial Revolution which set the stage for the modern era of economic growth (Wright 14). During the 1800’s, states became divided upon the issue of being a Slave or Free State. After the Civil War, Johnson approved of the emancipation of slaves (Boyer 497). However, during the Reconstruction, “black codes” were constructed to prevent African-American to be considered worthy citizens. Many Acts were passed to give them equality, but they still received inhuman treatment (Boyer 509-511). It took years of marches, protest, and riots

Lincoln debates that the emancipation of slaves from the Emancipation Proclamation is making a big deal over really nothing. No slaves will be affected by the Emancipation Proclamation, because the people that have to enforce it will not enforce it. Lincoln compared it to how Pope Callixtus III excommunicated Halley’s Comet. The comet was seen as an omen of troubles to come to Pope Callixtus III so he just got rid of all of its affiliations from the church. Lincoln sees this as a chance to make it seem like a difference is being made in America with some slaves being set free but none really are. Lincoln also pointed out the problem if a mass amount of slaves started to come to the North for refuge. How could the North support all the slaves

When most people hear of Native Americans, they cannot help but think of elaborate headdresses, red skinned warriors, and lively dancing. Although these aspects of Native American culture are fascinating, more important is where they fare in our society 's past and present. Restrictive laws and acts such as the Indian Removal Act, the Indian Reorganization Act, Fort Laramie treaties, and the Trail of Tears forced Native Americans from their lands. When settlers and the American government saw the resistance of Native Americans to forced assimilation, they resorted to racial discrimination and relocation to reservations. This history of discrimination has fueled calls for the United States government to pay reparations and the return of Native Americans to their indigenous lands.

From its birth, America was a place of inequality and privilege. Since Columbus 's arrival and up until present day, Native American tribes have been victim of white men 's persecution and tyranny. This was first expressed in the 1800’s, when Native Americans were driven off their land and forced to embark on the Trail of Tears, and again during the Western American- Indian War where white Americans massacred millions of Native Americans in hatred. Today, much of the Indian Territory that was once a refuge for Native Americans has since been taken over by white men, and the major tribes that once called these reservations home are all but gone. These events show the discrimination and oppression the Native Americans faced. They were, and continue to be, pushed onto reservations,

There were a variety of key factors that have led to the removal of the Cherokee Indians. One of the key factors that had promoted the removal of the Indians was the belief system of Manifest Destiney. The young colonists believed it was their mission from God to use the land given to them to the fullest. The colonists also believe they are to spread Democracy. This belief system caused the Cherokee Indians to lose most their land. The settlers annexed Florida from the Spanish not only because of their neglect, but they wanted to defeat the Native Americans. They wanted the large farmland they had in Florida. The Black Hawk War in the North caused the removal of many Sauk Indians to Kansas from Wisconsin and Minnesota. Regardless if the land was purchased Indians, the Americans believed they were entitled to all the land on the continent. They lost land through battle, treaties, and were forced to hand over land if they wanted the colonists support. A key factor of the Indian removal was the adoption of European culture. As many assimilated to the European culture, they were faced with prejudice

Freedmen’s life was working on a farm growing crops to help his family survive, but the landowner of the property that the freedmen is working on takes a lot of his crops. With that the freedmen have to pay their landowner for all the fee’s that come along with getting that land which makes them in debt. These African Americans were hoping that one day they will turn out to have a better life, but in the end they were all going to owe the landowner money. Freedmen changes politically, and economically but not so much socially because slavery was abolished, yet upper class people made rules to go against it so because of that it only changes freedmen’s life a little bit.

The early 1800s was a time of great expansion in the United States, stemming largely from the purchase of the Louisiana territory from France in 1803. These lands, however, were inhabited by what is known as the “Five Civilized Tribes” of Native Americans, the Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Seminole nations. They were called “Civilized,” in particular, because they had implemented writing systems, many were fully literate, had schools, and learned English. These tribes were more assimilated than any others had been, and were considered still savages by Anglo Americans. The occupation of these lands led to a policy of removal, beginning in 1830, that aimed to “separate the [Native Americans] from immediate contact with settlements of whites; free them from the power of the States; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions” (Jackson 1829). In other

After the war, many Native Americans feared that the Americans wouldn’t keep their promise of not taking their land, so on July 13, 1787 Congress signed the Northwest Ordinance that stated, “The utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the Indians; their land and property shall never be taken from them without consent; and in their property, rights, and liberty, they shall never be invaded or disturbed by Congress,” (Doc O). This was the first time a law was created to protect the rights of Native Americans. Along with the Native Americans, the African American community was seeing the changes that the American Revolution was bringing. Prior to the end of the end of the American Revolutionary war in 1783, three Northern states, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, had abolished slavery; after the war, more Northern states followed the first three’s example and abolished slavery, and later all the states ended slavery (Doc. K). This was the start to African Americans eventually becoming free of their bonds, and it was the American Revolution that started this movement. The social revolution of America changed the way people feel about different cultures and people, and it lead to the lives of Native Americans and Africans Americans changing in ways never thought of

The Market Revolution adversely affected the liberty of Native Americans residing within the United States because they were seen as an obstacle to the country’s economic progress. As the Market Revolution ideas of commerce and expansion took hold in the minds of the people, these white citizens shared the view that Native Americans were hindering the goal of expansion. It was the United State’s God-ordained right to occupy and settle the land westward (Manifest Destiny), and the Native Americans were in the way. The conflicts with Native Americans has existed in America since the first settlers, but with the increased emphasis on commerce and development brought by the Market Revolution, the relations worsened. In 1823, during the case of Johnson v M’Intosh, the Supreme Court claimed that Native Americans only had the “right of occupancy” on their land, and that they did not own it. In 1830, under Jackson’s administration, the Indian Removal Act was created which tried to move the 5 Civilized Tribes out of their lands. Finally, in the Trail of Tears during 1838-1839, 18,000 Cherokee men, women, and children were forcibly removed from their lands and relocated to Oklahoma by federal soldiers. Soon

Ever since the very first colonies were formed, the Native Americans have been forced out of their beloved inveterate lands in order for the Americans to be able to expand their new found territory. Yet, nothing ever changed and the same economic policies continued, bringing nothing but destruction to the Native people. Meanwhile, the political and social policies were dramatically distorted, deceiving the tribes into losing land and cultural values. Jackson’s efforts to remove any and all Cherokee Indians to territory west of the Mississippi in the 1830’s maintained the same economical attitudes as before but changed the social and political policies set by the previous colonies and the United States government towards the Native Americans.

Throughout history, Native Americans faced atrocity after atrocity at the hands of white settlers and losing their land and most of their people was only one of them. During the nineteenth century, the United States’ population boomed, causing people to start to move west in search of riches and vast lands in the “wild west.” However, as white settlers moved west, they started to encounter more and more Native American lands. The white settlers wanted to be able to settle on their lands, claiming that they were “misusing” the land and claiming that the Native Americans were “uncivilized.” The white settlers pled their case to the United States government to forcibly remove the Native Americans and get the rights to their lands. Andrew Jackson,

Today the United States is known as a land of freedom, and as elegantly stated by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” Unfortunately these words have not always been a reality for Native Americans, who were treated not as equals, but as subhuman by early white European settlers.

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