Sources for the Indian Removal Debate

Background Documents for Indian Removal Debate

Below, you will see a HUGE amount of material that could be incredibly useful as you set out to create your argument for the class debate on the Indian Removal Act of 1830. You are not expected to use all of these reources, but reviewing some might be helpful to your group. Consider having every member look at 1-2 sites, and report back to the group what information might be valuable. 

General Background Documents (many thanks to Mr. Blumer, Ms. Harrigan, and Ms. Karol for their resources)

A collection of all treaties This has the text of every treaty signed with different native american groups from the 1700s to the late 1800's. Obviously , this is more than you need. Look at the Cherokee and Seminole pre-1830, as well as any with the "5 civilized nations". Skim the treaties, looking for patterns you might use in debate. Cherokee Land Maps Maps showing how the Cherokee land changed. Debate Primary Sources: Con These are two speeches against the Indian Removal Act that make a wide variety of arguments. IF you quote from them in your speech, you must reference the orginal speaker. (As Senator Spraque recently said...") Indian removal Summary This is a good summary of the issues, how Jackson felt, and what happened in the end. Read as much as you want. Portions of the Actual Debate this is a transcript of the actual debate in Congress. Skim through it to find actual arguments on both sides. The Actual Text of the Indian Removal Act It is always useful to know exactly what you are speaking for or against!

Cherokee Resources 

A Cherokee view of the Jackson Administration

This article describes why Cherokees disliked Jackson and his policies so much. Read the first 6 paragraphs for stuff related to the simulation, and the rest tells you what happened afterwards if you want to know early. Look for a good Jackson quote here.

Cherokee History

Lots to see on this site, but check out the timeline, and chapters 2 and 3 of the history section in particular. Chapter 3 has some interesting stuff on how the Cherokees helped the US fight Britian in the war of 1812.

Sequoyah: An amazing Cherokee

A site about Sequoyah, who developed a written language for the Cherokee. Definitely helps in the arguments about Cherokees being "civilized".

Treaty of Hopewell-1785

This was the first treaty between the new US government under the Articles of Confederation and the Cherokees. the top splits the treaty into categories. Several sections have interesting promises, especially the section that defines boundaries.

Black Seminole Resources  Black Seminole Names To be authentic, pick a name Black Seminoles: A Historical Look A great site to give you background of where Black Seminoles came from and what they did to survive. It has good information about slavery in Seminole culture, too. Stop at the section called "the Indian territory", as it is past what we are doing in the simulation. Seminole History-in their own words... This is from the seminole tribe of Florida. Jackston Administration Resources  Jackson's Dec 1830 Speech to Congress Very valuable resource- this is Andrew Jackson in his own words explaining why he thinks the Indian Removal is a needed thing for the US and a good things for Indians too. It is tough reading, but you can get a lot from it if you are careful. Names of Jackson's cabinet A great place to get authentic names for your roleplay of the Jackson administration. Missionaries/Reformers Click on the links to get more info, but here are 4 important reformers that you might want to see what you might Google to see if there are good quotes, ideas or info Important People  Samuel Worcester was a missionary who worked with the Cherokee. He organized protests against Jackson's decision to remove Native Americans from land that would otherwise be used by plantation owners. As a result, he was arrested and sentenced to four years' imprisonment for violating a law that forbade white men from living with Native Americans. When the Cherokee left, he went with them and established the Park Hill Mission, an important institution in "Indian Territory". Elias Boudinot was a Cherokee educated in mission schools. He served as the editor of the Cherokee Phoenix, a newspaper. During this time, he wrote a number of editorials about the Native American removal. Sophia Sawyer was an educator who taught in Cherokee mission schools. She founded the Fayetteville Female Seminary. At one point she broke a Georgia law against teaching Cherokee-owned black slaves, but escaped arrest by saying she was on Native American land and would only obey their laws. Theodore Frelinghuysen was an American senator. He led the opposition against the Indian Removal Act and gave a six-hour speech on the matter, ending with the warning: "Let us beware how, by oppressive encroachments upon the sacred privleges of our Indian neighbors, we minister to the agonies of future remorse."  A missionary's editorials against IRA There are editorials written by Elias Boudinot. Read the background and anything before 1830. All else happened after the IRA was voted on. You can skim that, but have to be careful not to use specific events that had not happened yet! Bio of Sophia Sawyer Not tons of info here, but a quick read that gives you a sense of what type of people Missionaries/Reformers were. Senator F's speech about Indian removal This is the actual speech that the Senator gave about Indian removal. This link is hard, but SUPER useful. Skim it.. the first bit is about how he tried to change the language of the law, so that is not as important. The site notes when the speech itself starts. You can use ideas from it, but if you use quotes, you need to refer to him. ("As the esteemed gentleman from NJ said....") Southern Plantations Owners/Farmers Committee on Indian Affairs report: Pro This is the testimony of Senator Robert Adams talking about why he thinks removal is legal and beneficial. Georgia Background Read only the first paragraph of this link. If you think creatively, there are 1-2 ways this information may be useful to help Pro-georgia people make a case. North Georgia Gold Rush This link describes the Gold Rush in northern Georgia. It will help you make an argument that controlling this land would help Georgia and perhaps the whole nation. short letter about how good the land is... nice quote from a Southerner about how great the cherokee land is from growing cotton. Views of Southern Plantation Owners This is about the georgia gold rush, and had a solid summary of how planatation owners fel