Some Tips, Advice, and Guidance

Happy Snow Day!

In preparing for the debate there is a wealth of information out there causing a major headache: the problem is sifting through all of it to find something that you can use. Here is some advice to help you organize yourself and avoid the sense of being overwhelmed.

If you are a Plantation Owner, or a member of the Jackson Administration you are for the Indian Removal Act and you want the Senate to pass it. The Missionaries, Cherokees, and Seminole are all trying to have the Bill killed as soon as possible. Each group feels that they are right, and are fighting for the protection of their homes and rights.

One Friday, February 4th, all groups will begin the Senate Hearing on the issue of Indian Removal. Each group will be responsible for presenting the Senate with facts and data that will persuade each of the voters. Every group will have to defend their position as well as questioning the opposition.

Some tips that might help you in your research:

Cherokee:

Give the Senate examples of how well you have assimilated. Maybe present yourself as an American name instead of your Cherokee name. (Address the crown as Nicholas instead of Sequoia)

1. Treaty of Hopewell when was it signed? What did it promise?

2. You have your own Constitution, are you American citizens? Cite some portions of your Constitution. Would America do this to Canada?

3. How much have you assimilated? Who asked you to assimilate?

4. Have you ever been West of the Mississippi?

5. What was your relationship with Jackson prior to him becoming President.

Jackson's Administration.

Your boss is very passionate about this particular issue. The President knows that he has the support of the American people behind him. He has ordered you to address the Senate about the urgent need to get this Bill passed.

1. When were the treaties signed?

2. Who can use this land?

3. How will the nation benefit?

4. Are any tribes a threat to the security of the nation?

5. What is the job of the American government?

Plantation Owners.

1. Poor farmers and yeomen will also be able to use this land

2. This land has already been developed. (there are crops and fields)

3. The land belongs to the state of Georgia

4. Indians are getting their own new land with taxpayers money

5. Seminole have been attacking your farms and plantations for years

6. Florida could be vital land

Missionaries.

For years some of you have been living and working with the Cherokee of Georgia. Your goal is to prove to the Senate that they have assimilated and are not a threat to the people of Georgia.

1. How well have they assimilated to the American culture?

2. Has white culture been promoted?

3. Has religion spread?*

4. Does this Bill benefit the South?

5. What could happen to the Native Americans once they leave

*To an American in the 1830s the baptism of a Native American was vital to their soul. The spread of Protestant beliefs was widely encouraged during this timer period. "The Second Great Awakening"

Seminole.

Your argument is very similar to the Cherokees.

1. Focus on legal issues

2. How long have you lived there?

3. What will happen to your culture

4. Talk about your relationship with Jackson prior to the Bill

Ladies and Gentleman this assignment can be outstanding and the highlight of the year, it has potential. The more work you put into this, the more you will get out of it.

email if you have questions or agada

Indian Removal Act Links

With the weather being far from cooperative, groups need to stay in contact with each other and continue to work on your arguments for the Hearing.

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. In order to form a strong argument it is important to understand or anticipate what your opponent is going to bring up during the debate. 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

Cover Page of Indian Removal Act Packet

Directions for Cover of IRA Debate Packet Assignment

I want you to create a professional-looking cover for your packet. To do this, you need to split the paper into 5 sections – with each section reflecting the 5 views we are looking at:

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1. Cherokees

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2. Jackson Administration

3. Farmers/Southerners

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

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4. Missionaries/Reformers

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5. Seminoles/Black Seminoles

p Write the title for your packet: The Indian Removal Act of 1830

p Create a single word for each group that reflects the views/beliefs of that group on the question of Indian removal.

p Create a symbol for each group that reflects the views/beliefs of that group on the question of Indian removal.

p After reading each of the group’s summaries, list in their section whether they are for/against the proposed bill.

You can PRINT or DRAW your text/symbols, but please make sure it is done neatly, with effort.

Assignment for the Snow Day

Well, we have a snow day. Hopefully at some point between sledding, shoveling, and hot chocolate you remembered to check the website for the homework.

The following needs to be done by Friday:

1. Read and markup the text of the Indian Removal Act.

2. Read the article on the Cherokee and answer the following questions

1. When did the Cherokee sign treaties with the U.S. government?

2. What did the Georgia law of 1829 say?

3. Why would the Cherokee say that the 1829 law was invalid?

4. Who was Sequoya? What impact did he have on the Cherokee Nation?

Enjoy your day, I will see you tomorrow

~ Mr. M

U.S. and Cherokee Relations

After reading and marking up the handout please answer the following questions.

1. Who has the authority to make treaties with Native American tribes? Why?

2. Why did the U.S. government want Native American tribes to relocate west?

3. What is assimilation? Give three examples of how the Cherokee has successfully assimilated by the 1820s.

4. What was the Treaty of Hopewell?

5. What was the dilemma that both Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams faced?

Whose Who of the Jackson Era

Tonight for h.w. use your notes, the textbook, or the internet to describe the following important people from the Age of Jackson. Use the Henry Clay example as a guide for your responses.

Henry Clay: member of the Whig Party, he was a member of Congress from Kentucky and an opponent to Andrew Jackson.

John C. Calhoun

Thomas Hart Benton

Nicholas Biddle

John Quincy Adams

Rachel Jackson

Daniel Webster

Martin Van Buren

James Monroe

Lewis Cass

Chief John Ross

Chief Justice John Marshall

Andrew Jackson vs. John C. Calhoun

In 1830, a tariff was placed on imported goods to America. This additional tax increased the price of products coming to the United States from Europe. Lawmakers who wrote and approved of the tax were hoping to protect Northern factories and businesses. Companies from places like Lowell were competing against companies from England in the textile market.

For a plantation owner or a yeoman farmer in the South the tariff was an economic burden. Goods from Great Britain were typically cheaper then American made products. A farmer could enter a store and purchase a pair of shoes from England that would cost them (i'm making this number up) $1.00 while shoes from Lynn would cost him $2.00. Once the tariff was in place, the shoes from Britain would end up costing more money then the shoes that were made in the U.S. These protective tariffs would force people from the South to buy goods that were made in the North. Many Southerners objected to the tax because it was costing them to pay more.

Britain is going to respond to the American tariff with a tariff of their own. They place a tax on American goods that were being imported to Great Britain. These goods included: rice, tobacco, flour, cotton, sugar, and indigo. All goods that were being grown in the American South. Once that tax was put in place many British companies started to not purchase goods from America, choosing to buy products from China, Egypt, and India. American farmers of the South were now hurt by falling prices in their exports in addition to high prices for manufactured goods.

Vice-President John C. Calhoun was against the tariff and called for the federal government to remove the tariff. Jackson and Calhoun had some heated exchanges regarding the tax. Calhoun would resign the following year and travel back to South Carolina to help lawmakers there plan on handling the issue. Calhoun would find his answer to the crisis by seeing how other states had responded to unpopular federal law.

His answer was the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. During the Presidency of John Adams, the Alien and Sedition Act were passed. Both of these laws were criticized for being unfair and unconstitutional. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison drafted a resolution for Virginia and Kentucky which said that a state had the right to cancel a federal law that was unfair. Since the Alien and Sedition Act were never brought to the Supreme Court, nobody really knew what the answer was. Calhoun felt that the V and K Resolutions were a precedent for other states to follow.

Lawmakers met in Colombia South Carolina and voted to not pay the tariff. Soon other state representatives were being asked by people from South Carolina if they would consider joining South Carolina in breaking away from the Union.

Washington D.C. was filled with talk of Civil War. Jackson began to meet with military advisors to see what would be the best way to defeat South Carolina if they withdrew from the Union. Jackson let in be known publicly that he would not let South Carolina leave the Union. To Jackson the country was not a league, with each state a member that can choose to leave whenever it wanted to. "The Constitution forms a government, not a league."

Ultimately Jackson would win over Calhoun on the issue of Nullification. South Carolina eventually backed down, and Congress voted to lower the tariff shortly after. Calhoun would serve in the Senate until the 1850s becoming a symbol of state's rights. For Jackson the victory would increase his popularity and have him earn high marks with historians decades after his death. The issue over state's rights would not go away however.