Enduring a cultural, spiritual, and physical bludgeoning since its first contact with European society, the Cherokee Nation succumbed to the foreign power in the first half of the nineteenth century. However, as tensions rose between the two entities, nationalist attitudes emerged to justify the arguments on both sides of the struggle. The United States’ perpetual infringement of Indian sovereignty inspired both sentiments of opposition and reluctant submission within the indigenous nation. Stemming from religious and governmental assimilation policies, the law’s bias against the Cherokees in their efforts to keep their borders and culture intact, and political infighting over land secession, Cherokee nationalism encompassed the spirit of resistance to Western encroachment.
Lacking the Christian religion, the Cherokee Nation became a hotspot for evangelical missionaries to spread the Gospel, establish Western values through schools, and breed contempt among their subjects. Recounting her teaching experience with Cherokees, Sally M. Reece suggested, “They have yet a great many bad customs but I hope all these things will soon be done away. They have thought more about the Savior lately. I hope this nation will soon become civilized and enlightened.” While the religious instructors saw merit to their practices, those receiving the schooling protested. One tutor recalled a child telling her, “If white people want more land let them go back to the country they came from.” These accounts demonstrate the disdain for encroachment that formed the foundation for Cherokee nationalism. While years of influence from external organizations embedded the notion that a civilized society conformed to Christian morals, the instigators of these reforms received criticism for their unwelcome presence on indigenous land. Moreover, the English taught in schools allowed them to effectively voice their grievances with their oppressors. The expression of native nationalism also translated to another political body, whose efforts to Westernize the Cherokee possessed a much more despicable purpose. In an attempt to “civilize” the Cherokees to make their eventual eviction easier, the U.S. government played a role in aligning indigenous institutions with their own, unknowingly creating a force with the tools to recognize and address their maltreatment. The U.S. government exercised its legal standing to further the Christian missionaries’ goals of enlightening the savage people. They forced the acceptance of mainstream American technology, social structures, and constructs, such as slavery. Using the Western-oriented printing press, Elias Boudinot of the Cherokee Phoenix declared, “The guardian has deprived his wards of their rights - the sacred obligations of treaties and laws have been disregarded - the promises of Washington and Jefferson have not been fulfilled.” As broken treaties, forced constitutions, and an economic restructuring transformed their way of life, the Cherokee people employed the skills the government bestowed upon them to recognize their toxic paternalistic relationships and unite in resistance. This bureaucratic invasion expanded beyond the social sphere, physically constraining Cherokee borders through unjust laws and illicit activities. Federal Indian policy responded to the economic and social interests of a growing White population, contributing to a collective agitation among the Cherokee people. Acknowledging that “Philanthropy has been long busily employed,” Andrew Jackson sought to end the U.S. assimilation policies with Native Americans, favoring a complete displacement instead. He pondered in his 1830 State of the Union Address, “What good man would prefer a country covered with forests and ranged by a few thousand savages to our extensive Republic . . . filled with all the blessings of liberty, civilization, and religion?”(120) Defending the Indian Removal Act and later supporting Georgia’s efforts to ignore Worcester v. Georgia, the Supreme Court ruling that protected Cherokee sovereignty, Jackson defined Cherokee extraction as a nationalistic cause. In an antithesis to the president’s speech, the Cherokee …show more content…
Voicing their opposition to Western encroachment with the assistance of Enlightenment ideas and European constructs, the Cherokees adopted the ways of their enemies to effectively resist. As the conflict grew between those outside and those inside the Indian nation, the Trail of Tears heralded the end of the tribes once-thriving legacy. As compulsory change and broken promises marked their relationship, the United States abandoned the Cherokee people with a shattered culture in a new
Lacking the Christian religion, the Cherokee Nation became a hotspot for evangelical missionaries to spread the Gospel, establish Western values through schools, and breed contempt among their subjects. Recounting her teaching experience with Cherokees, Sally M. Reece suggested, “They have yet a great many bad customs but I hope all these things will soon be done away. They have thought more about the Savior lately. I hope this nation will soon become civilized and enlightened.” While the religious instructors saw merit to their practices, those receiving the schooling protested. One tutor recalled a child telling her, “If white people want more land let them go back to the country they came from.” These accounts demonstrate the disdain for encroachment that formed the foundation for Cherokee nationalism. While years of influence from external organizations embedded the notion that a civilized society conformed to Christian morals, the instigators of these reforms received criticism for their unwelcome presence on indigenous land. Moreover, the English taught in schools allowed them to effectively voice their grievances with their oppressors. The expression of native nationalism also translated to another political body, whose efforts to Westernize the Cherokee possessed a much more despicable purpose. In an attempt to “civilize” the Cherokees to make their eventual eviction easier, the U.S. government played a role in aligning indigenous institutions with their own, unknowingly creating a force with the tools to recognize and address their maltreatment. The U.S. government exercised its legal standing to further the Christian missionaries’ goals of enlightening the savage people. They forced the acceptance of mainstream American technology, social structures, and constructs, such as slavery. Using the Western-oriented printing press, Elias Boudinot of the Cherokee Phoenix declared, “The guardian has deprived his wards of their rights - the sacred obligations of treaties and laws have been disregarded - the promises of Washington and Jefferson have not been fulfilled.” As broken treaties, forced constitutions, and an economic restructuring transformed their way of life, the Cherokee people employed the skills the government bestowed upon them to recognize their toxic paternalistic relationships and unite in resistance. This bureaucratic invasion expanded beyond the social sphere, physically constraining Cherokee borders through unjust laws and illicit activities. Federal Indian policy responded to the economic and social interests of a growing White population, contributing to a collective agitation among the Cherokee people. Acknowledging that “Philanthropy has been long busily employed,” Andrew Jackson sought to end the U.S. assimilation policies with Native Americans, favoring a complete displacement instead. He pondered in his 1830 State of the Union Address, “What good man would prefer a country covered with forests and ranged by a few thousand savages to our extensive Republic . . . filled with all the blessings of liberty, civilization, and religion?”(120) Defending the Indian Removal Act and later supporting Georgia’s efforts to ignore Worcester v. Georgia, the Supreme Court ruling that protected Cherokee sovereignty, Jackson defined Cherokee extraction as a nationalistic cause. In an antithesis to the president’s speech, the Cherokee …show more content…
Voicing their opposition to Western encroachment with the assistance of Enlightenment ideas and European constructs, the Cherokees adopted the ways of their enemies to effectively resist. As the conflict grew between those outside and those inside the Indian nation, the Trail of Tears heralded the end of the tribes once-thriving legacy. As compulsory change and broken promises marked their relationship, the United States abandoned the Cherokee people with a shattered culture in a new