Letter by Elias Boudinot (Modified) Who is Elias Boudinot?

What do you
1837 predict he will say about Indian
Removal?

Look at our people! They are wretched! Look,

my dear sir, around you, and see the
What was life like for the Cherokee in
progress that vice and immorality have
Georgia, according to Boudinot?
already made! See the misery!

If the darker picture which I have described

here is a true one, can we see a brighter
possibility ahead? In another country, and What does Boudinot hope will happen if
under other circumstances, there is a better the Cherokees move west?
prospect. Removal, then, is the only remedy,
the only practical remedy. Our people may
finally rise from their very ashes, to become What does the author want for the
prosperous and happy, and a credit to our Cherokee?
race. I would say to my countrymen, fly from
your life here that is destroying our nation.

What is the prospect in reference to your

[John Rosss] plan of relief, if you are
understood at all to have a plan? It is dark
and gloomy beyond description. Subject the
Cherokees to the laws of the States in their
present condition? It matters not how What does Boudinot think of Georgia laws?
favorable those laws may be, instead of
remedying the evil you would only rivet the
chains and fasten the manacles of their
servitude and degradation. The final destiny
of our race, under such circumstances, is too
revolting to think of. Its course must be What does Boudinot think will happen if
downward, until it finally becomes extinct or the Cherokee do not move west?

is merged in another race, more ignoble and

more detested. Take my word for it, it is sure
consummation, if you succeed in preventing
the removal of your people. The time will
come when there will be only here and there
those who can be called upon to sign a
protest, or to vote against a treaty for their
removal when the few remnants of our
once happy and improving nation will be
viewed by posterity with curious and gazing
interest, as relics of a brave and noble race.
Are our people destined to such a
catastrophe? Are we to run the race of all our
brethren who have gone before us, and of
whom hardly any thing is known but their
name and perhaps only here and there a
solitary being, walking, as a ghost over the
ashes of his fathers, to remind a stranger
that such a race once existed?
May God preserve us from such a destiny.
What is the main idea of this passage?

About the Author: Elias Boudinot Pull out three bullet points about the
Elias Boudinot (born Gallegina Uwati also known as author:
Buck Watie) was a member of a prominent family of
the Cherokee Nation who was born in and grew up in
present-day Georgia. Educated at a missionary
school in Connecticut, he became one of several
leaders who believed that acculturation was critical
to Cherokee survival; he was influential in the period
of removal to Indian Territory.
Boudinot believed that removal was inevitable. He
and other treaty supporters signed the Treaty of
New Echota in 1835, but it was not signed by John
Ross, the Principal Chief, and was opposed by most
of the tribe. The following year the tribe was forced
to cede most of its lands in the Southeast, and
remove to the West.
To the Cherokee Tribe of Indians
Written by Andrew Jackson in 1835
MY FRIENDS: I have long viewed your condition with
great interest. For many years I have been acquainted
with your people, and under all variety of
circumstances, in peace and war Listen to me, What tone is Jackson taking in
therefore, as your fathers have listened, while I this last sentence?
communicate to you my sentiments on the critical
state of your affairs.

You are now placed in the midst of a white

population and you are now subject to the same
laws which govern the other citizens of Georgia and Is the picture of life in Georgia
Alabama The game has disappeared among you, and and Alabama that Jackson is
you must depend upon agriculture and the mechanic describing a good one?
arts for support. How, under these circumstances
can you live in the country you now occupy? Your
condition must become worse & worse, and you will
ultimately disappear, as so many tribes have done
before you.

Of all this I warned your people, I then advised them What does Jackson say he
to sell out their possessions East of the Mississippi advised the Indians do?

and to remove to the country west of that river Your

farms would have been open and cultivated,
comfortable houses would have been erected, the What does Jackson say awaits
Indians west of the Mississippi?
means of subsistence abundant and you would have
been governed by your own customs and laws, and
removed from the effects of a white population.
Where you now are, you are encompassed by evils,
moral and physical, & these are fearfully increasing

I have no motive, to deceive you I tell you that you What is the one solution, or
cannot remain where you now are You have but one remedy, that Jackson tells
Indians they have left?
remedy within your reach. And that is, to remove to
the west and join your countrymen, who are already
established there. And the sooner you do this, the
sooner you can commence your career of
improvement and prosperity

Why, then, should any honest man among you object How does Jackson describe the
to removal? The United States have assigned to you a land in the west?
fertile and extensive country, with a very fine climate
adapted to your habits, and with all the other natural
advantages which you ought to desire or expect

The choice now is before you As certain as the sun

Does Jackson portray a lot of
shines to guide you in your path, so certain is it that leeway in this paragraph?
you cannot drive back the laws of Georgia from
among you Look at the condition of the Creeks
their young men are committing depredations upon
the property of our citizens, and are shedding their
blood. This cannot and will not be allowed. Wha does Jaackson say awaits
Punishment will follow, Your young men will commit those who choose to fight back?
the same acts, and the same consequences must
ensue

Look at your condition as it now is, and then consider

what it will be if you follow the advice I give you. What is the main idea of this
passage?
About the author: Andrew Jackson Pull out three bullet points
Born in poverty, Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) had become a about the author:
wealthy Tennessee lawyer and rising young politician by 1812,
when war broke out between the United States and Britain. His
leadership in that conflict earned Jackson national fame as a
military hero, and he would become Americas most
influentialand polarizingpolitical figure during the 1820s and
1830s. After narrowly losing to John Quincy Adams in the
contentious 1824 presidential election, Jackson returned four
years later to win redemption, soundly defeating Adams and
becoming the nations seventh president (1829-1837). As
Americas political party system developed, Jackson became
the leader of the new Democratic Party. A supporter of states
rights and slaverys extension into the new western territories,
he opposed the Whig Party and Congress on polarizing issues
such as the Bank of the United States. For some, his legacy is
tarnished by his role in the forced relocation of Native
American tribes living east of the Mississippi.
Memorial of a Delegation of the Cherokee Nation of
Indians
Message to Congress from a Cherokee delegation,
delivered in 1830

in consequence of a pretended claim set up by the How was the previous line
State of Georgia to a large portion of the lands A line dividing the Indians from the
of separation between the two nations was agreed whites set up?
upon, marked out, and permanently established, to
the satisfaction of both parties, in 1802; and they do Who agreed upon the line?
not consider that it is within the range of Executive
duties to remove the landmarks of any tribe or
nation, contrary to its consent, It is believed to be
unjust,

We respectfully solicit your attention to this What outcome are the Cherokee
looking for for both parties?
important subject; and rely, with the utmost
assurance, that ample justice be done to all parties

A treaty was concluded by the Government with the

What did the treaty with the
Arkansas Cherokees, in 1828; to induce their Arkansas Cherokees call for?
removal West of that river; that the United States
will make to an emigrant a just compensation for the
property he may abandon,

The valuation of improvements made under that

treaty, does not bind our nation that no individual What can no individual do
according to their treaty?
can, contrary to the will and consent of the legal
authorities, cede to the United States any portion
thereof, or transfer any title to the same. The United
States have also declared that they are unwilling that
any cessions of land should be made to them , unless
with the full understanding and full assent of the tribe
making such cession, and for a just and adequate
consideration,
the treaty of 1819, with the Cherokees, that, after
What do the Cherokee call
providing a home for those who desired to withdraw unjust?
themselves, it is stipulated, the lands then ceded are
in full satisfaction of all claims which the United States
have on them Consequently, it is unjust to claim
now more lands,

Under the solemn pledges to prevent intrusions upon What do the Cherokee think of
these lands, thus guarantied, we cannot but believe, whites who have moved into
their land?
and do consider all such white families as have
entered and located themselves in the nation,
whether under the sanction of State authority or not,
to be intruders; and, as such, subject to the penalties
prescribed by the intercourse laws of the United
States.
What is the main idea of this
passage?

About the Author: The Cherokee Pull out three bullet points
Since the earliest contact with European explorers in the 16th about the author:
century, the Cherokee people have been consistantly identified as
one of the most socially and culturally advanced of the Native
American tribes. Cherokee culture thrived many hundreds of years
before initial European contact in the southeastern area of what is
now the United States. Cherokee society and culture continued to
develop, progressing and embracing cultural elements from
European settlers. The Cherokee shaped a government and a society
matching the most civilized cultures of the day.
Gold was discovered in Georgia in 1829. Outsiders were already
coveting Cherokee homelands and a period of "Indian removals"
made way for encroachment by settlers, prospectors and others.
Ultimately, thousands of Cherokee men, women and children were
rounded up in preparation for their "removal" at the order of
President Andrew Jackson in his direct defiance of a ruling of the U.S.
Supreme Court ("[Justice] John Marshall has made his decision; let
him enforce it now if he can." - Andrew Jackson).
The Cherokee were herded at bayonet point in a forced march of
1,000 miles ending with our arrival in "Indian Territory," which is
today part of the state of Oklahoma. Thousands died in the
internment camps, along the trail itself and even after their arrival
due to the effects of the journey.
Petition by Ladies in Steubenville, OH Against
Indian Removal
Written in 1830

that the present crisis in the affairs of the Who do the Ladies say the present crisis
should appeal to?
Indian nations, calls loudly on all who can feel
for the woes of humanity, to solicit, with
earnestness, your honorable body to bestow on
this subject, involving, as it does, the prosperity
and happiness of more than fifty thousand of How do the Ladies identify the 50,000
Indians? Why might they refer to them
our fellow Christians, the immediate this way?
consideration demanded by its interesting
nature and pressing importance.

It is readily acknowledged,any interference What do the Ladies say is unbecoming

on the part of their own sex with the ordinary for females to get involved with?
political affairs of the country, as wholly
unbecoming the character of the American
females. Even in private life, we may not
presume to direct the general conduct, or
control the acts of those who stand in the near
and guardian relations of husbands and
What calls on women to sometimes get
brothers; yet all admit that there are times
involved in politics?
when duty and affection call on us to advise
and persuade, may we not hope that even the
small voice of female sympathy will be heard?...

When, therefore, injury and oppression How do the Ladies describe what is
threaten to crush a hapless people within our being done to the Indians?

borders, we, the feeblest of the feeble, appeal

with confidence to those who should be
representatives of national virtues To you,
then, as the constitutional protectors of the
Indians within our territory, and as the peculiar
guardians of our national character, and our
How do they refer to Indians in this last
counter's welfare, we solemnly and honestly line?
appeal, to save this remnant of a much injured
people from annihilation,

And your petitioners will ever pray

What is the tone of this document?

What is the main idea?

G. Ladies in Steubenville, OH Pull out three bullet points about the

More than 60 women from Steubenville, Ohio, signed author:
this 1830 petition begging Congress to reconsider
Andrew Jacksons plan to remove southern Native
Americans beyond the Mississippi. These supporters,
bolstered by advocacy in the Christian press, were
particularly moved by the fact that some of these tribes
had taken up agriculture and Christianity in response to
white teachings.

As historian Mary Hershberger writes, the fight against

Native American removal was the first time that
American women became politically active on a
national scale. Empowered by the ideology of
republican motherhood, which argued that women had
a political voice based on their place as educators of
sons and guardians of the moral code, women decided
to step into the debate.

Many of the women involved in the petition drive,

including Harriet Beecher (Stowe) and Angelina Grimk,
later took up the abolitionist cause, where they found
more success.
John Burnetts Story of the Trail of Tears
Written by a private who served during the
Cherokee removal in 1890

Children: This is my birthday, December 11, 1890, I

am eighty years old today Often spending weeks at
a time in the solitary wilderness with no companions
but my rifle, hunting knife,

On these long hunting trips I met and became What contact did Burnett have
acquainted with many of the Cherokee Indians, with the Cherokee?
hunting with them by day and sleeping around their
camp fires by night. I learned to speak their language,
and they taught me the arts of trailing and building
traps and snares

What profession was Burnett in

The removal of Cherokee Indians from their life long
that he was involved with Indian
homes in the year of 1838 found me a young man in removal?
the prime of life and a Private soldier in the American
Army(I) witnessed the execution of the most brutal How does he describe Indian
Removal?
order in the History of American Warfare. I saw the
helpless Cherokees arrested and dragged from their
homes, and driven at the bayonet point I saw them How does Burnett compare
loaded like cattle or sheep into six hundred and their removal to?
fortyfive wagons and started toward the west.

One can never forget the sadness and solemnity of Were the Indians prepared for
that morning Many of these helpless people did not the journey?

have blankets and many of them had been driven

from home barefooted.
What were the weather
On the morning of November the 17th we conditions on the trail to the
encountered a terrific sleet and snow storm with west?
freezing temperatures and from that day until we
reached the end of the fateful journey on March the
26th, 1839, the sufferings of the Cherokees were What does Burnett call the trails
awful. The trail of the exiles was a trail of death. They of the exiles?
had to sleep in the wagons and on the ground without
fire. And I have known as many as twenty-two of
them to die in one night of pneumonia due to ill What were the causes of death
on the trip out west?
treatment, cold, and exposure. Among this number
was the beautiful Christian wife of Chief John Ross.
This noble hearted woman died a martyr to
childhood, giving her only blanket for the protection
of a sick child. She rode thinly clad through a blinding
sleet and snow storm, developed pneumonia and died
in the still hours of a bleak winter night, with her head
resting on Lieutenant Greggs saddle blanket

The long painful journey to the west ended March

26th, 1839, with four-thousand silent graves reaching
from the foothills of the Smoky Mountains to what is
known as Indian territory in the West. And
covetousness on the part of the white race was the
cause of all that the Cherokees had to suffer.

Chief Junaluska was personally acquainted with

President Andrew Jackson

Chief John Ross sent Junaluska as an envoy to plead How does Burnett describe
with President Jackson for protection for his people, Jacksons reaction when Chief
but Jacksons manner was cold and indifferent toward John Ross asked for protection?
the rugged son of the forest who had saved his life
The doom of the Cherokee was sealed. Washington,
D.C., had decreed that they must be driven West and
their lands given to the white man,

However, murder is murder whether committed by

the villain skulking in the dark or by uniformed men
stepping to the strains of martial music.
What is the main idea of this
passage?

About the Author: John Burnett Pull out three bullet points
This letter tells the story of the Trail of Tears, as recalled by John G. about the author:
Burnett, a soldier in the U.S. Army. Burnett had been friends with a
number of the Cherokee but, as a soldier, had to help forcibly
relocate them to Oklahoma in 18371838.
Excerpt from John Rosss Letter to Congress, 1829
Who is the intended
To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives audience for this letter?
of the United States of America, in Congress assembled:
Who does Ross represent
We, the undersigned, Representatives of the Cherokee in this letter?
Nation, beg leave to present before your honorable bodies
a subject of the deepest interest to our nation, as involving
the most sacred rights and privileges of the Cherokee
What did the Georgia act
People. The Legislature of Georgia, during its latest session, say?
passed an act to add a large portion of our territory to that
State

This act involves a question of great magnitude and of

serious import, and which calls for the deliberation and
decision of Congress. It is a question upon which the What does Ross say is at
stake in this act?
salvation and happiness or the misery and destruction of a
nation depends, therefore it should not be trifled with. The
anxious solicitude of Georgia to obtain our lands through
the United States by treaty was known to us, and after How did Ross
accommodate the desires
having accommodated her desires (with that of other of Georgia?
States bordering on our territory) by repeated cession of
lands, until no more can be reasonable spared, it was not
conceived, much less believed, that a State, proud of
Liberty, and tenacious of the rights of man, would
condescend to have placed herself before the world in the What does Ross say
imposing attitude of a usurper of most sacred rights and Georgia is doing?
privileges of a weak, defenseless, and innocent nation of How does Ross describe
people, who are in perfect peace with the United States, his Cherokee people?
and to whom the faith of the United Sates is solemnly
pledged to protect and defend them against the
encroachments of their citizens.

It is with pain and deep regret we have witnessed the

various plans which have been devised within a few years
past by some of the officers of the General Government,
and the measure adopted by Congress in conformity to Where does Ross say
Congress wants to move
these plans, with the view of effecting the removal of our his people to?
nation beyond the Mississippi, for the purpose, as has been
expressed, to promote our interest and permanent
happiness, and save us from the impending fate which has
swept others into oblivion. Without presuming in doubt the What does Ross say
sincerity and good intentions of the advocates of this plan, about those who argue
we as the descendants of the Indian race, and possessing that Indian removal will
both the feelings of the Indian and the white man, cannot be good for Indians?

but believe that this system to perpetuate our happiness, is

visionary, and that the anticipated blessings can never be
realized

We cannot admit that Georgia has the right to extend her Does Ross say that his
jurisdiction over our territory, nor are the Cherokee people people are willing to give
prepared to submit to her persecuting edict. We would in to Georgia demands?
therefore respectfully and solemnly protest, in behalf of the
Cherokee Nation, before your honorable bodies, against What is Ross asking for
the extension of the laws of Georgia over any part of our here?
Territory, and appeal to the United States' Government for
justice and protection...

In behalf, and under the authority of the Cherokee Nation,

this protest and memorial is respectfully submitted. What is the main point of
this passage?
About the author: John Ross Pull out three bullet
John Ross (October 3, 1790 August 1, 1866), also known as Koo-wi-s-gu-wi points about the author:
(meaning in Cherokee a "Little White Bird"), was the Principal Chief of the
Cherokee Nation from 18281866, serving longer in this position than any
other person. Described as the Moses of his people, Ross influenced the
Indian nation through such tumultuous events as the relocation to Indian
Territory and the American Civil War.
Ross first went to Washington, D.C. in 1816 as part of a Cherokee delegation
to negotiate issues of national boundaries, land ownership and white
encroachment. He became council president in the following year. In this
position, Ross's first action was to reject an offer of $200,000 from the US
Indian agent made for the Cherokee to voluntarily relocate. Thereafter Ross
made more trips to Washington, even as white demands intensified. In
1824, Ross boldly petitioned Congress for redress of Cherokee grievances,
the first time a tribe had ever shown the audacity to do such a thing. Along
the way, Ross built political support in the capital for the Cherokee cause.
Excerpt from Speech in Congress from Senator
Theodore Frelinghuysen, 1830
Why might Frelinghuysen remind
God, in his providence, planted these tribes on this Congress that the Indians were in
Western continent, so far as we know, before Great the US before Great Britain?
Britain herself had a political existence. I believe, sir,
it is not now seriously denied that the Indians are How does Frelinghuysen describe
men, endowed with kindred faculties and powers Indians?
with ourselves; that they have a place in human
sympathy, and are justly entitled to a share in the
common bounties of a benignant Providence. And,
with this conceded, I ask in what code of the law of What is Frelinghuysen asking
here?
nations, or by what process of abstract deduction,
their rights have been extinguished? ...

Several years ago, official reports to Congress stated How much land does
Frelinghuysen say was originally
the amount of Indian grants to the United States to given to the Indians?
exceed two hundred and fourteen millions of acres.
... The confiding Indian listened to our professions of
friendship: we called him brother, and he believed
us. Millions after millions he has yielded to our What does Frelinghuysen say the
importunity, until we have acquired more than can Indians gave up by the millions?
be cultivated in centuriesand yet we crave more.
We have crowded the tribes upon a few miserable How does Frelinghuysen describe
acres on our Southern frontier: it is all that is left to the land reserved for the Indians?
them of their once boundless forests: and still, like
the horse-leech, our insatiated cupidity cries, give!
give! ...

Our ancestors found these people, far removed from How does Frelinghuysen
the commotions of Europe, exercising all the rights describe the Indians living before
whites arrived?
and enjoying the privileges, of free and independent
sovereigns of this new world. They were not a wild
and lawless horde of banditti, but lived under the
restraints of government, patriarchal in its character,
and energetic in its influence. They had chiefs, head
men, and councils. ...
 Every administration of this Government, from What does Frelinghuysen say
President Washingtons, have, with like solemnities every president since Washington
and stipulations, held treaties with the Cherokees; did?
treaties, too, by almost all of which we obtained
further acquisitions of their territory. Yes, sir,
whenever we approached them in the language of
friendship and kindness, we touched the chord that
won their confidence; and now, when they have Now that the Indians have
nothing the US gov. wants, what
nothing left with which to satisfy our cravings, we does Frelinghuysen say the
propose to annul every treatyto gainsay our government wants to do now?
wordand, by violence and perfidy, drive the Indian
from his home. ... How can we ever dispute the
sovereign right of the Cherokees to remain east of
the Mississippi, when it was in relation to that very
location that we promised our patronage, aid, and
good neighborhood? ...

How were these people to remain, if not as they

then existed, and as we then acknowledged them to
be, a distinct and separate community, governed by
their own peculiar laws and customs? We can never
deny these principles, while fair dealing retains any
hold of our conduct. ...

What is the main idea from this

passage?

About the Author: Theodore Frelinghuysen Pull out three bullet points about
Theodore Frelinghuysen was an American politician, serving as the author:
New Jersey Attorney General, United States Senator, and Mayor of
Newark, New Jersey before running as a candidate for Vice
President with Henry Clay on the Whig ticket in the election of
1844. He was President of the American Board of Commissioners
for Foreign Missions (1841 c. 1857), President of the American
Bible Society (18461862), President of the American Tract Society
(18421846), Vice President of the American Sunday School Union
(18261861), and Vice President of the American Colonization
Society. He believed in temperance and actively opposed slavery.
His moniker was the "Christian Statesman."
Gen. Winfield Scott's Address to the Cherokee
Nation - May 10, 1838
Why might Scott be referring to his
Cherokees! The President of the United States has sent powerful army here?
me with a powerful army, to cause you, in obedience to
the treaty of 1835 [the Treaty of New Echota], to join What does Scott want the Indians to
that part of your people who have already established in do?
prosperity on the other side of the Mississippi.
Unhappily, the two years which were allowed for the
What does Scott say that the Indians
purpose, you have suffered to pass away without
failed to do for two years?
following, and without making any preparation to
follow; and now, or by the time that this solemn address
shall reach your distant settlements, the emigration
must be commenced in haste, but I hope without What does Scott say he has no power
disorder. I have no power, by granting a farther delay, to to do?
correct the error that you have committed. The full
moon of May is already on the wane; and before
another shall have passed away, every Cherokee man,
woman and child in those states must be in motion to
join their brethren in the far West. My friends! This is no
sudden determination on the part of the President,
According to the treaty cited by Scott
whom you and I must now obey. By the treaty, the
when was the emigration supposed to
emigration was to have been completed on or before take place?
the 23rd of this month; and the President has constantly
kept you warned, during the two years allowed, through
all his officers and agents in this country, that the treaty
would be enforced.

I am come to carry out that determination. My troops

already occupy many positions in the country that you What does Scott say his army is there
are to abandon, and thousands and thousands are to do?
approaching from every quarter, to render resistance
and escape alike hopeless. All those troops, regular and
What does he tell the Indians to think
militia, are your friends. Receive them and confide in of the soldiers as?
them as such. Obey them when they tell you that your
can remain no longer in this country. Soldiers are as
kind-hearted as brave, and the desire of every one of us
is to execute our painful duty in mercy. We are
commanded by the President to act towards you in that
spirit, and much is also the wish of the whole people of
America. Chiefs, head-men and warriors! Will you then,
by resistance, compel us to resort to arms? God forbid! What two possibilities does Scott hope
Or will you, by flight, seek to hid yourselves in mountains wont happen?
and forests, and thus oblige us to hunt you down?
Remember that, in pursuit, it may be impossible to avoid
conflicts. The blood of the white man or the blood of the
What does Scott say hes trying to avoid
red man may be spilt, and, if spilt, however accidentally,
here?
it may be impossible for the discreet and humane among
you, or among us, to prevent a general war and carnage.
Think of this, my Cherokee brethren! I am an old warrior,
and have been present at many a scene of slaughter, but
spare me, I beseech you, the horror of witnessing the
destruction of the Cherokees.

Do not, I invite you, even wait for the close approach of

the troops; but make such preparations for emigration
as you can and hasten to this place, to Ross's Landing or
to Gunter's Landing, where you all will be received in
What does Scott say awaits Cherokee
kindness by officers selected for the purpose. You will who make the journey early?
find food for all and clothing for the destitute at either of
those places, and thence at your ease and in comfort be
transported to your new homes, according to the terms
of the treaty.

This is the address of a warrior to warriors. May his

entreaties by kindly received and may the God of both
prosper the Americans and Cherokees and preserve
them long in peace and friendship with each other!
What is he main idea of this passage?

Meet the Author: Gen. Winfield Scott Pull out three bullet points about the
Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786 May 29, 1866) was a United author:
States Army general and unsuccessful presidential candidate
of the Whig Party in 1852.
Known as "Old Fuss and Feathers" and the "Grand Old Man of
the Army", he served on active duty as a general longer than
any other person in American history, is rated as one of the
most senior commissioned officers of all time, and many
historians rate him as the best American commander of his
time. Over the course of his 53-year career, he commanded
forces in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War, the Mexican
American War, the Second Seminole War, and, briefly, the
American Civil War, conceiving the Union strategy known as
the Anaconda Plan that was used to defeat the Confederacy.
He served as Commanding General of the United States Army
for twenty years, longer than any other holder of the office.
Native American Voices Colonel Webb Brother: How some NAs refer to the
US government/ the president
(Choctaw)
Brother, when you were young, we were strong;
we fought by your side; but our arms are now
broken. You have grown large; my people have What does Webb compare his shout
to? Why might he refer to himself this
become small. Brother, my voice is weak; you way?
can scarcely hear me; it is not the shout of a
warrior, but the wail of an infant. I have lost it in
mourning over the misfortunes of my people.
What does Webb say he is protecting?
These are their graves, and in those aged pines
the ghosts of the departed. Their ashes are here,
and we have been left to protect them. Our
warriors are nearly all gone to the far country
west; but here are our dead. Shall we go too, If the dead could have voted on the
and give their bones to the wolves? Every treaty, how does Webb say the vote
warrior that you see here was opposed to the would have gone?
Treaty. If the dead could have been counted, it
could never have been madeTheir tears came
in the rain drops, and their voices in the wailing
winds, but the pale faced knew it not, and our
land was taken away.
Native American Voices Speckled Snake
(Creek)
When he first came over the wide waters, he
was but a little man, and wore a red coatThe How does Speckled Snake say Native
Muscogees gave the white man land, and Americans treated Europeans when
they first arrived?
kindled him a fire, that he might warm
himselfBut when the white man had warmed
himself before the Indians fire, and filled What metaphor is SS making here?
himself with their hominy, he became very
large. With a step he bestrode the mountains,
and his feet covered the plains and the valleys.
His hands grasped the eastern and the western
seaThen he became our Great Father. He loved
his red children, and he said, Get a little
further, least I tread on thee. With one foot he
pushed the red man over the Oconee, and with
the other he trampled down the graves of his
fathers, and the forests [where] he had so long
hunted the deer. But our Great Father still loved What do you think this get a little
his red children, and he soon made them further is referring to?
another talk. He said, Get a little further; you
are too near me. But there were some bad men
among the Muscogees then, as there are now.
They lingered around the graves of their
ancestors, till they were crushed beneath the
heavy tread of our Great FatherYet he
continued to love his red children; and when he What does SS say the US did when it
found Indians too slow moving?
found them too slow in moving, he sent his
great guns before him to sweep his path.
Native American Voices Chinnebey (Creek)

ourreason for sending this petition is the one Why is Chinnebey scared of moving
which troubles our minds the most We can not west?
think of our aged people and children taking so
long a journey in the heat of summer, without
weeping we feel certain that should we
remove in this season of the year, many of those
we love, as the white man loves his parents, and
children, would fall to the hands of death, and
the bones be left far from the bones of their
brethren. Sir, will you not pity us! O, pity us, What does Chinnebey want the US to
do?
relieve us from our troubles and let us go free in
the cool season of the year to the west; and the
Great Spirit will reward you for your kindness, to
those whom all white men abuse.
About the Author: Speckled Snake Pull out three bullet points about the
Speckled Snake was a chief of the Muscogee, later author:
known as the Creeks, who spoke to the Muscogee
people who were considering the advice of Andrew
Jackson to move beyond the Mississippi in 1829. He was
against the idea. Upon hearing Pres. Andrew Jackson
speech about Indian removal west of Mississippi,
Speckled Snake made this speech to his "Brothers."