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SS8Hd Timespan
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Treaty of New York
Near the end of the 1700s, conflicts between the Creek Indians and white settlers were at an all-time high, so Chief Alexander McGillivray met with President George Washington to sign the Treaty of New York. This gave up all Creek lands west of the Oconee River. Both parties were unsatisfied with this treaty, but after other treaties, a period of "peace" began between the Creeks and English settlers. -
Cherokee Syllabary
In 1760, the Cherokee Indian Sequoyah was born. He was given the name George Gist at birth, but he preferred his Cherokee name, which meant "Lonely Lame One." He is famous for being the first man to, without any prior literacy in any language, create a syllabary for a language, He began in 1809. -
Cherokee Syllabary
After 12 years of working on a Cherokee syllabary, Sequoyah has finished his work. At first, many Cherokees oppose the idea, but by the end of 1830, over 90% of Cherokees were literate. -
Treaty of Indian Springs
Around this time, Creek tribes began becoming more and more separted due to the invasion of settlers. On February 12, 1825, Creek Chief William McIntosh, along with his first cousin Governor George Troup, signed the Treaty of Indian Springs, which sold the remainder of Creek lands to the governement for $200,000. -
McIntosh's Death
On April 12, 1825, between 170 and 400 Creeks showed up to murder William McIntosh for selling Creek lands. -
Treaty of Washington
As reconciliation for taking 5 million acres of Creek land, the U.S. government promised to give the Creeks 2 million acres of land. However, this treaty was broken within one year as settlers had already begun moving onto the new Creek land. -
Presidency of Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson, also called "Old Hickory", is elected as President of the United States. He makes it his main priority to remove Native Americans from the South. -
Dahlonega Gold Rush
In the small town of Auraria, Benjamin Parks discovers gold. This news spread quickly throughout Georgia, leaving many with “gold fever." Those who were inspired to find gold were driven to the area to mine Along with this gold rush came a Georgia law that stated that Cherokees had no right to gold and couldn’t speak against white men in court. -
Worcester v. Georgia: Beginning
In 1830, the state of Georgia passed a law stating that any white men living in Cherokee land must pledge their allegiance to the state. 11 men, the most famous of them being Samuel Worcester, refused to do this. Samuel Worcester was thrown in prison for this, and when he was released he started a series of trials which would lead to the Supreme Court case Worcester v. Georgia. -
Indian Removal Act
Congress, under President Andrew Jackson, passes the Indian Removal Act, authorizing the president to negotiate with Southern tribes to move to lands East of the Mississippi River. -
Worcester v. Georgia: Middle
Samuel Worcester, aftering being thrown in prison for disobeying to pledge his allegiance to the state of Georgia in 1830, files a lawsuit against the state. He is found guilty by the state court, so he turns his case to the Supreme Court. There, it is decided that the ruling in Georgia could not stand because Georgia laws did not apply in Cherokee Country. The verdict was delivered by Chief Justice John Marshall. -
Worcester v Georgia: End
To John Marshall's verdict, President Jackson responded by saying, "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it." This is famouse for being the only time a U.S. President has openly opposed the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Marshall ordered Worcester be freed, but Judge Clayton in Georgia refused. In the end, Worcester rested the case and went free. -
Treaty of New Echota
At the time, John Ross was Chief of Cherokee Country, and was opposed to Cherokee removal. However, Major Ridge, a high man in Cherokee society, his son John Ridge, and John’s cousin Elias Boudinot supported Cherokee removal, arguing that Cherokees would just be better off if they left New Echota for the Cherokee reservations in Oklahoma. Without the consent of the rest of the tribe, these three men, along with only a few others, signed the Treaty of New Echota, ceding Cherokee land to the U.S. -
Trail of Tears
After the Treaty of New Echota, the federal government decided to begin moving all the Cherokee to New Echota. This process took 3 years and ended in 1838. In the winter of that year, the U.S. government escorted all the Cherokee people 750 west of Cherokee Country to present-day Oklahoma. John Ross and his family went too, and Ross’s wife died, along with 1/3 of the other Cherokees, on the trip. They finally settled in the new Indian territory, but many were lost on the trek there.
