Learning Objectives
- Describe how the Cherokee used a variety of means to try and protect their sovereignty.
- Recognize that a group of people, such as the Cherokee Nation, is not a monolithic group and does not all think the same way
- Identify each type of source and its purpose.
- Use evidence from informational texts to support analysis and answer questions.
Overview
The 1830 Indian Removal Act authorized President Andrew Jackson to negotiate treaties with tribes in order to relocate them to land west of the Mississippi & open their lands to white settlement. The Cherokee resisted relocation. This DBQuest looks at the responses of the Cherokee and how they tried to keep their sovereignty, or independence. Sources include speeches made by members of the Cherokee, Elias Boudinot and Major Ridge; as well as a petition to the U.S. Congress disputing the Treaty of New Echota.