HIST 2010: Red Clay, 1835, Cherokee Removal and the Meaning of Sovereignty

By Walter H. Conser, Jr. in The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 44, No. 2 (May 1978), pp. 191-212

By Bethany Schneider in ELH; Spring2008, Vol. 75 Issue 1, p151-177.
With his writings for the Cherokee Phoenix, Elias Boudinot established himself as a foremost Cherokee intellectual and patriot. However, his admiration for the United States as a model for culture and government caused him to be seen as a tragic figure caught between conflicting cultural values. His signature on the Treaty of New Echota, which set the scene for the “Trail of Tears”, and his execution by his countrymen for treason against the Cherokee Nation has earned him the reputation of a traitor. As the editor of the Cherokee Phoenix he stood publicly against the removal of native Indians to lands across Mississippi, but in 1831 and 1832 he changed his mind. The writer discusses Boudinot's change of mind before exploring the interventions made by philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson and Cherokee Principal Chief Ross into the debate on Indian removals.

By Brian Hicks in the Smithsonian, Mar2011, Vol. 41 Issue 11, p50-60.
The article discusses negotiations between the Cherokee Indians and the U.S. government leading up to the forced removal of Cherokees from their traditional lands to Oklahoma in 1838, also known as the Trail of Tears. It particularly focuses on the Cherokee leadership of trader John Ross and warrior Major Ridge and analyzes the policy of U.S. President Andrew Jackson. The author examines the division of Cherokees into the National Party and the Treaty Party following disagreements over relocation. Other topics include Ridge's son John Ridge and the Cherokees' struggles against the state of Georgia.