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Most significant for Tennessee,
however, was Jackson's Indian
removal policy. The effort to
remove the remnants of the
Southern tribes to land beyond the
Mississippi River grew out of
Georgia's attempts to take over
Cherokee land and property in that
state.
The Cherokee in north Georgia and
southeast Tennessee had long since
adopted much of the white man's
civilization; some were
slaveholders and prosperous
farmers, they had their own
newspaper and constitution, and
many were more literate than their
white neighbors.
Georgia was allowed to proceed
with its grasping evictions
because President Jackson refused
to enforce the Supreme Court
decision protecting Cherokee
autonomy. Instead, he actually
ordered the Army to begin
preparations to remove—forcibly if
necessary—the Cherokee from their
ancestral land.
With the power of the Federal
government arrayed against them, a
handful of tribal members gave in
and signed the removal treat in
1835, but most steadfastly opposed
giving up their land. Many
Cherokee were still on their land
in 1838 when the U.S. Army was
dispatched to evict them and send
them on a woeful trek to Indian
Territory—the "Trail of
Tears."
A small band of Cherokee who
refused to comply with forced
removal escaped into the Smoky
Mountains where their descendants
still live.
These final lands taken from the
once powerful Cherokee were
quickly sold by the state to
settlers, who soon turned Chief
John Ross's Landing into the town
of Chattanooga.
Tennessee Blue Book
2007-2008 |
