Democracy, sovereignty, and the Struggle over Cherokee Removal Timeline Part 1

By wird_o
  • 1540

    Earliest Recorded Contact

    The Spanish reached the Cherokee village of Guasili.
  • The Massachusetts Bay Colony Is Founded

  • Cherokee Population in 1650

    Approximately 22,000.
  • Period: to

    King Philip's War

    Relations between settlers and Native Americans in southern New England degenerated into a brutal and exceedingly bloody conflict.
  • Signing Treaties

    The British and Cherokee were signing military and commercial treaties with each other.
  • Epidemics Start

  • Limited Dealings

    Limited dealings with Europeans beforehand.
  • Fought Against the Tuscarora

    The British and the Cherokee fought together against the Tuscarora, another southeastern Native American tribe.
  • Cherokee Population by 1720

    About 10,000 - 12,000.
  • Sign First Treaty

    The Cherokee signed their first treaty transferring land to the British.
  • Smallpox Outbreak

  • British and Cherokee Partnership Solidified

  • The Articles of Friendship and Commerce

    The Cherokee delegates assented to the articles terms.
  • Period: to

    French and Indian War

  • Trouble Starts

  • British Assault on Homeland

  • King George III Issued the Proclamation of 1763

  • Colonists Declare Independence from Britain

  • Land Ceded

    The ceded more than 68,000 square miles in nine treaties.
  • Smallpox Epidemic

  • Comprehensive Peace Treaty

    The United States finally signs a comprehensive peace treaty with the Cherokee.
  • Ratification of the U.S. Constitution

  • Treaty Violations Complaint

    The Cherokee sent a delegation to the national capital to complain about the ongoing treaty violations.
  • Henry Knox Wrote to President Washington

  • Attacking Settlers Near the Frontier

  • Treaty of Holston

  • Breaking the Resistance

    The U.S. invaded Chickamaugan territory in northwest Georgia and destroyed their towns.
  • Tennessee Became a State

  • The First Treaty of Tellico

    President John Adams negotiated with the Cherokee and signed the First Treaty of Tellico.
  • Georgians Outraged

    Many Georgians were outraged after the state legislature sold approximately 80,000 square miles of western land to wealthy speculators.
  • The Pact of 1802

  • Period: to

    Secured Four Agreements

    A federal Indian agent named Return Jonathan Meigs secured four agreements with the Cherokee.
  • Conflict Comes to a Head

  • Jefferson Offers an Exchange

    President Jefferson offered an exchange of western lands for eastern ones to any Cherokee willing to leave their homelands.
  • The Council Revoked the Migrants' Citizenship in the Cherokee Nation

  • Mutually Agreeable Solution

    The Cherokee General Council named a committee of leaders to work out a mutually agreeable solution with the federal government.
  • Potential Treaty

    Major Benjamin Currey spoke to a committee from the tribe about a potential treaty with the United states.
  • Agree To Treaty

    The committee members agreed to the Treaty of New Echota.
  • Treaty Vote

    The U.S. Senate put the Treaty of New Echota to a vote.