Tail of fears.
John Ross is believed to have made an unlikely looking chief of Cherokee. After being born to a Scottish trader and a woman of European and Indian heritage in 1700, he is deemed to have been eight Cherokee in terms of blood. He used to wear a tie and a suit rather than wearing a beaver-skin hat and deerskin leggings. He became so prosperous due to his trading post as compared to the white men or the Indians. However, he was raised in a traditional household by his grandmother, who understood the legends and customs. Once the Cherokees embraced formal education, they quickly adapted to the rapidly changing world, whereby they attended the same school with their children. After his mother’s death, Ross worked at the trading post of his grandfather, which was considered an important way station on the road to the west. There was some encounter with most of the white settlers as they entered into the Cherokee land.
To a unique degree among the five southern major tribes, the Cherokees are believed to have utilized legal argument and diplomacy in ensuring that they offered some protection to their interests. By having some help from Major Ridge, who was a warrior by then, Ross was entitled to the primary negotiator of the tribe whose officials were in the Washington D.C. in the year of 1820s, as they enjoyed one of the best historical promising periods, which involved constitution adoption, developing of a written language and building a capital city, Ross was enacted as the principal chief of Cherokees. At the same time, Ridge was appointed as his counselor.
The state government discouraged the white settlers who kept on coming by abetting the land that belonged to the Indians through fraud, bribery, and coercion and ignored the federal treaties. Once the tribes turned to redress to Washington, most federal officials are believed to have proved themselves hostile or ineffectual, depending on the administration. The other major southern tribes, one by one, signed various treaties that required each of them to uproot the furthest side of the Mississippi River, although the Cherokee are considered to have held out. However, they are believed to have succumbed in 1838 after having marched for 800 miles into extremely bitter winter. Those who survived in the journey to what is referred to as Oklahoma labeled it as the Trail of Tears. A communal tragedy was the departure as it had been there, especially for the other tribes. In the Cherokees’ case, their defeat and resistance are believed to have reflected as well in the collapse and rise of a partnership that seemed to be extraordinary between Ridge and Ross.
Both Ross and Ridge are believed to have met in 1813, which was the year Ross had awakened in terms of the politics while he was on a trading trip that would later be referred to as Alabama. One of the Creek chiefs referred to as the Big Warrior informed him a faction concerning his tribe is considered to have become so hostile so openly to the European settlers and customs. Such red sticks, as the faction called them, involved threatening civil war. However, Ross, who was only 22 years old by then, had recognized a hazard to the Cherokees whereby such war was considered to endanger most of the white settlers. Considering that most whites did not distinguish between various tribes, any move that was retaliating they could make was considered a threat, especially to the Indians. Therefore, this made him write to the local Indian agent of the U.S. an urgent note. The note read that the opposing party was believed to be numerous, and if not accorded any quick assistance, it was obvious that they would be conquered from the rebels.
Ridge’s embrace of change was not popular, especially among the tribesmen, although there were concerns from a few of them who raised some queries concerning his loyalty. In 1807, he was believed to have been one of the great leaders. They got rid of Cherokee’s most powerful chief double head because of being involved in selling the hunting grounds, especially for his tribe, for personal benefits. Ridge was also involved in the protest, especially when the U.S.’s white Indian agents had enticed the principle Black Fox chief after having proposed his tribe to move to the western side. He believed that, as a man, he believed that his opinion was also supposed to be accorded some respect. In 1813, it was believed that Ridge had heard enough of the politics and was, therefore, able to understand the advantage of diplomacy, which was gained by joining Tennesseans, who are believed to have been fighting the Red Sticks. There could have been a realization of the Cherokees’ advantage if it were not for Andrew Jackson, who was the militia leader they used to fight under his guidance.
Due to being fluent in English, Ross is believed to have become one of the lead negotiators of Cherokees, whereby he proved to be more than a match for the war secretary William Crawford. It was considered to be foreign for the principle of Cherokee to involve himself in a friendship that does not exist. However, the treaties signed by the Cherokees mandated them to surrender very large pieces of land, although they were guaranteed rights to whatever was to remain. The main reason for engaging themselves in the fight was that they wanted such rights to be enforced. After several debates, Crawford had to relent; hence, the United States restored the large piece of land the Cherokees claimed to be theirs. The Cherokees were not that mean and therefore decided to sell one of their pieces of land in the side of Southern Carolina to the state government. In a move enacted to prevent the local chiefs from accepting bribes, especially when selling the land belonging to Cherokee, in 1817, the council of Cherokee came up with a national committee that was entitled to carry out all businesses of their tribe.
In 1827, it was believed that Cherokee had acquired a written constitution that had defined a government with legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Within that year, they were able to acquire new leadership due to two of their leaders’ death. Therefore, they had to select an interim chief, although making decisions remained the work of both Ridge and Ross. Such decisions involved handling law enforcement when to hold council, whether to give room for constructing the roads that passed via the tribal land. The two men were so essential among the Cherokee in decision making; hence, the locals gave a name to the three-mile trail a Road Ridge Road. Ross never spoke of any aspiration, although it is understood that he had aspired to be the principal chief. He promotes this candidacy of protégé without even giving him a name, dictating an essay to the Cherokee phoenix that is considered to have described the removal of the most pressing issue of the Cherokee and therefore gave some warning to the leaders who had been manipulated by the white men.
Conclusion
John Ross is believed to have served as one of the successful principal chiefs for more than 27 years whereby he oversaw the construction of a courthouse and schools which were meant for the capital, and he spent several years to petition the federal government the government to make sure that it paid the total amount it owed its people. Even as his health deteriorated, he could never quit; he went to Washington to sign up for another treaty. Such a treaty was believed to extend the citizenship of Cherokee, which would free most of the Cherokee slaves before he died. Later, the government ensured that it appropriated India’s property on the western side, where it forced most of the people and tribes to give in to the land reservations.
References
Citation: Dwyer, John J. “Trail of Tears and Blessings.” New American (08856540) 30 (9): 32-39. http://libdata.lib.ua.edu/login?url=https://seearch.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db+pwh&AN=95745591&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Kimberely, David R. “Cherokees and the Congregationalists vs. Georgia and Andrew Jackson: The Attempt to Prevent the Trail of Tears. International Congregational Journal 11 (1): 91-115. http://lib.ua.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&bd=aph&AN=78091427&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Minges, Patrick. “Beneath the Underdog: Race, Religion, and the Trail of Tears.”The Indian Quarterly 25 (3):453http://libdata.lib.ua.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edgl.8942853&siteeds- live&scope=site.
Hicks, Brian. Toward The Setting Sun John Ross, The Cherokees, and The Trail of Tears. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2011.
Jahoda, Gloria. The Trail of Tears: The Story of the American Indian Removals1813-1855. New York: Random House,1975.