Fourteen Years of Progress at New Echota:
Foreword
Throughout the fourteen years that New Echota was the capital city of the Cherokee Nation, the entire world witnessed one of the most rapidly advancing and calculatedly adapting societies in the Americas. The Cherokee, under indomitable pressure from the United States government, were frequently on the wrong end of treaties, wars, and rulings that stole more and more of their land. They were desperate to hold on to their customs, way of life, and freedoms they rightfully deserved. Regardless of how justified their wants and needs were, peace and prosperity would not come so easily to the Cherokee, and on the hallowed grounds of New Echota, the ever-adapting Cherokee made their last valiant stride to beat the U.S government at its own game. In just fourteen years, the Cherokee renewed their government into a three branch democracy, adopted their own written language on top of mastering English literacy, utilized the power of the press to change minds and spread awareness, and lastly fought and won in the U.S court system. There are few if any greater examples of a people willing to sacrifice and rise so far to a challenge, only for the table to be flipped in their face when they won. However unjust, this is the story and legacy of the Cherokee Nation at New Echota.
Government
During the time of New Echota, the Cherokee had a complex, three-branch, democratic government. This government was arranged very similarly to the United States government of the time, with a two-house legislature, made up of the National Committee and the National Council, which functioned as the Cherokee Congress. The Cherokee also had a Principal Chief as the head of their executive branch, and a complex court system with a Supreme Court housed at New Echota. If you're noticing a lot of similarities between the Cherokee government and our own United States government, that is no coincidence.
Through the many trials and tribulations between the Cherokee Nation and the United States, the Cherokee were often promised that if they simply assimilated and adapted to the American way of life, they would be treated fairly and recognized as a legitimate, sovereign nation. Of course, this was never truly the plan of the America of their day, whose desires were far more expansionist, and as a result, the Cherokee's rapid change in politics, foreign relations, and overall appeasement-conscious lifestyle were worth nothing to their neighbors. Regardless of what prompted this change in government, however, the achievements of the reborn Cherokee Nation are nothing to scoff at.
Developing a democracy different from thousands of years of prior governance is something pretty difficult to do for any nation, and in the case of the Cherokee, this change to centralized governance was an absolute necessity if they wanted to be recognized and respected by the United States, and nations abroad. They hit the ground running on developing these changes, using the United States constitution and government structure as a model. Just two years after they officially named New Echota their capital, they had already developed their three-branch government structure, and in July of 1827, ratified the Cherokee Constitution.
This constitution was a landmark document for the nation, guaranteeing their land, separating the powers of government, establishing voting regulations, and finalizing their democracy. Although I've mentioned several things that made the Cherokee government very similar to ours, it's also important to mention what made them unique in governance. Two of the most interesting distinctions that come to mind are the lack of a prison system and the fact that congress elected the principal chief, not simply the average person. This made the Cherokee closer to a parliamentary democracy and gave them a very unique approach to court rulings. In any ruling, the court had three primary ways to categorize punishment for a crime including fines, lashings, or death. This expedited justice system likely helped to lower the cost of governance, hastened punishment, and removed the need for expensive prisons.
Through the many trials and tribulations between the Cherokee Nation and the United States, the Cherokee were often promised that if they simply assimilated and adapted to the American way of life, they would be treated fairly and recognized as a legitimate, sovereign nation. Of course, this was never truly the plan of the America of their day, whose desires were far more expansionist, and as a result, the Cherokee's rapid change in politics, foreign relations, and overall appeasement-conscious lifestyle were worth nothing to their neighbors. Regardless of what prompted this change in government, however, the achievements of the reborn Cherokee Nation are nothing to scoff at.
Developing a democracy different from thousands of years of prior governance is something pretty difficult to do for any nation, and in the case of the Cherokee, this change to centralized governance was an absolute necessity if they wanted to be recognized and respected by the United States, and nations abroad. They hit the ground running on developing these changes, using the United States constitution and government structure as a model. Just two years after they officially named New Echota their capital, they had already developed their three-branch government structure, and in July of 1827, ratified the Cherokee Constitution.
This constitution was a landmark document for the nation, guaranteeing their land, separating the powers of government, establishing voting regulations, and finalizing their democracy. Although I've mentioned several things that made the Cherokee government very similar to ours, it's also important to mention what made them unique in governance. Two of the most interesting distinctions that come to mind are the lack of a prison system and the fact that congress elected the principal chief, not simply the average person. This made the Cherokee closer to a parliamentary democracy and gave them a very unique approach to court rulings. In any ruling, the court had three primary ways to categorize punishment for a crime including fines, lashings, or death. This expedited justice system likely helped to lower the cost of governance, hastened punishment, and removed the need for expensive prisons.
The Power of the Press
At the forefront of Cherokee achievements at New Echota, is the first-ever Native American newspaper, and the first newspaper to use the Cherokee written language, the Cherokee Phoenix. It's hard to overstate how important authentic and spreadable media is to informing and rallying the public, and in the case of the Cherokee, the Cherokee Phoenix was their greatest asset. For the first time in history, it allowed them to set the record straight, combat hateful misinformation against native people, and rally their own citizens to work towards a better future.
Just as it was in our previous article on New Echota, this quote from Elias Boudinot, the editor in chief of the Cherokee Phoenix comes to mind, where he describes some of the insulting rhetoric of his day, and the hope of the Cherokee Phoenix, "We would now commit our feeble efforts to the goodwill and indulgence of the public, praying that God will attend them with his blessings, and hoping for that happy period, when all the Indian Tribes of America shall arise, Phoenix-like, from the ashes, and when the terms "Indian depredation", "warwhoop," "scalping knife" and the like, shall become obsolete, and forever "buried deep under ground". Elias Boudinot, Cherokee Phoenix, Vol. 1, No. 1.
Knowing the dark history that followed such optimistic and hard-working people, makes this quote especially emotional to me each time I read it. To see a group of people working tirelessly to disrupt the unfair world around them with their only true desire being to be treated fairly and equally to those around them, only to see it was in vain is truly disinheriting. Where all doors and windows closed around them, the Cherokee chose to use their words and not their fists as well as the justice system of their unjust oppressor and showed resolve until the end of their era at New Echota, and in their historic homeland.
As you follow along through the forty-seven editions of the Cherokee Phoenix printed at New Echota, you can read through changes in the Cherokee Nation, and many of the troubles they faced with illegal settling on Cherokee land, precursors to the treaty of New Echota, and troubling events on their horizon. Although the Cherokee Phoenix was not the place for free and open Cherokee debate, as instructed by the then Cherokee Principal Chief John Ross, it was an extremely important tool in sharing historic events from a Cherokee point of view and spreading the word of Cherokee achievement and advancement beyond Cherokee borders. If this paper were not strangled financially in 1834, and truly silenced with the confiscation of their printing press in 1835 by the State of Georgia, who knows what other insight we could have gained from the Cherokee left behind in the ghost town of New Echota, or further west along the trail of tears.
Thankfully for the Cherokee and Americans of today, the Cherokee Phoenix's legacy and publications are not one of the achievements buried at New Echota. In the year 2000, the Cherokee Phoenix was reborn from the ashes of the Cherokee Advocate and continues to print regularly to this day, 193 years later from its new home in Oklahoma.
Just as it was in our previous article on New Echota, this quote from Elias Boudinot, the editor in chief of the Cherokee Phoenix comes to mind, where he describes some of the insulting rhetoric of his day, and the hope of the Cherokee Phoenix, "We would now commit our feeble efforts to the goodwill and indulgence of the public, praying that God will attend them with his blessings, and hoping for that happy period, when all the Indian Tribes of America shall arise, Phoenix-like, from the ashes, and when the terms "Indian depredation", "warwhoop," "scalping knife" and the like, shall become obsolete, and forever "buried deep under ground". Elias Boudinot, Cherokee Phoenix, Vol. 1, No. 1.
Knowing the dark history that followed such optimistic and hard-working people, makes this quote especially emotional to me each time I read it. To see a group of people working tirelessly to disrupt the unfair world around them with their only true desire being to be treated fairly and equally to those around them, only to see it was in vain is truly disinheriting. Where all doors and windows closed around them, the Cherokee chose to use their words and not their fists as well as the justice system of their unjust oppressor and showed resolve until the end of their era at New Echota, and in their historic homeland.
As you follow along through the forty-seven editions of the Cherokee Phoenix printed at New Echota, you can read through changes in the Cherokee Nation, and many of the troubles they faced with illegal settling on Cherokee land, precursors to the treaty of New Echota, and troubling events on their horizon. Although the Cherokee Phoenix was not the place for free and open Cherokee debate, as instructed by the then Cherokee Principal Chief John Ross, it was an extremely important tool in sharing historic events from a Cherokee point of view and spreading the word of Cherokee achievement and advancement beyond Cherokee borders. If this paper were not strangled financially in 1834, and truly silenced with the confiscation of their printing press in 1835 by the State of Georgia, who knows what other insight we could have gained from the Cherokee left behind in the ghost town of New Echota, or further west along the trail of tears.
Thankfully for the Cherokee and Americans of today, the Cherokee Phoenix's legacy and publications are not one of the achievements buried at New Echota. In the year 2000, the Cherokee Phoenix was reborn from the ashes of the Cherokee Advocate and continues to print regularly to this day, 193 years later from its new home in Oklahoma.
Worcester v. Georgia (The Supreme Court Case)
Worcester v. Georgia was the most important supreme court ruling between nearly any Native American tribe, and the United States government. The case was between Rev. Samuel Worcester, a Cherokee sympathizer and white missionary who lived on Cherokee land, and the state of Georgia. Worcester, who served as the head postmaster for the Cherokee Nation, had lived in New Echota for many years all the way up until he followed the Cherokee in the Trail of Tears. From his reputation in the town and evident commitment to the Cherokee cause, it's clear that he had empathy and drive in favor of Cherokee initiatives, but his stint among the Cherokee would be temporarily interrupted in 1831 when he was arrested and sentenced to four years of hard labor for living on native land without a license.
Several policies like the one responsible for arresting Rev. Worcester were enacted by the state of Georgia, to try and slowly make life more difficult for natives and their allies, and in the hopes of the state, these policies would slowly push them elsewhere. The state of Georgia was relentless in its pursuit of Cherokee land, enacting several land grabbing and rights slashing policies between the late 1820s, to early 1830s, eventually culminating in one of the greatest atrocities in United States history, the Trail of Tears. Prior to the Worcester v. Georgia case in the supreme court, however, the state of Georgia had largely gotten away with abusive and unconstitutional treaties and laws, through a constitutional loophole. This loophole was argued on the grounds that states only had permission to communicate with "foreign nations", "Indian nations" were not explicitly labeled in the constitution, and therefore the state lacked jurisdiction to hear the Cherokee's cases, despite signing one-sided treaties with them in the past. These abuses continued at the hands of Georgia until the case of Rev. Worcester was sent all the way up to the Supreme Court, to the avail of the Cherokee that had been ignored for so long.
In this historic case, the Supreme Court ruled 5-1 in favor of Rev. Worcester, stating that the state of Georgia had no power over the Cherokee Nation, as they were a free and independent nation. As argued by Chief Justice John Marshall, "treaties and laws of the United States contemplate the Indian territory as completely separated from that of the states; and provide that all intercourse with them shall be carried on exclusively by the government of the union," he went on to say, "The Cherokee nation, then, is a distinct community occupying its own territory in which the laws of Georgia can have no force. The whole intercourse between the United States and this nation, is, by our constitution and laws, vested in the government of the United States."
This conclusion, by the highest court of law in the nation, stated what the state of Georgia knew was right all along. The Cherokee Nation was an independent nation, involved in several treaties and agreements with the United States, and therefore, must seek to resolve disputes with the federal government, effectively going over Georgia's head. This would have been a profound and incredibly consequential case for future U.S.-Native relations if it were not for a complete and total failure on all forms of government. Going against the separation of powers, President Andrew Jackson famously responded to the court's rulings saying, "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it". Following this ridiculous response, the state of Georgia agreed and ignored both the ruling of the supreme court and the separation of state and federal powers. This was a major upset in the battle of states rights' just thirty years before the start of the Civil War.
As I stated previously in this article, the Cherokee Nation beat the United States at its own game, only to have the table flipped in their face when they rightfully won. This was then and remains to this day an embarrassment to the United States justice system, and further proof that if Andrew Jackson's spirit ever existed in the first place, it is surely rotting in hell.
Several policies like the one responsible for arresting Rev. Worcester were enacted by the state of Georgia, to try and slowly make life more difficult for natives and their allies, and in the hopes of the state, these policies would slowly push them elsewhere. The state of Georgia was relentless in its pursuit of Cherokee land, enacting several land grabbing and rights slashing policies between the late 1820s, to early 1830s, eventually culminating in one of the greatest atrocities in United States history, the Trail of Tears. Prior to the Worcester v. Georgia case in the supreme court, however, the state of Georgia had largely gotten away with abusive and unconstitutional treaties and laws, through a constitutional loophole. This loophole was argued on the grounds that states only had permission to communicate with "foreign nations", "Indian nations" were not explicitly labeled in the constitution, and therefore the state lacked jurisdiction to hear the Cherokee's cases, despite signing one-sided treaties with them in the past. These abuses continued at the hands of Georgia until the case of Rev. Worcester was sent all the way up to the Supreme Court, to the avail of the Cherokee that had been ignored for so long.
In this historic case, the Supreme Court ruled 5-1 in favor of Rev. Worcester, stating that the state of Georgia had no power over the Cherokee Nation, as they were a free and independent nation. As argued by Chief Justice John Marshall, "treaties and laws of the United States contemplate the Indian territory as completely separated from that of the states; and provide that all intercourse with them shall be carried on exclusively by the government of the union," he went on to say, "The Cherokee nation, then, is a distinct community occupying its own territory in which the laws of Georgia can have no force. The whole intercourse between the United States and this nation, is, by our constitution and laws, vested in the government of the United States."
This conclusion, by the highest court of law in the nation, stated what the state of Georgia knew was right all along. The Cherokee Nation was an independent nation, involved in several treaties and agreements with the United States, and therefore, must seek to resolve disputes with the federal government, effectively going over Georgia's head. This would have been a profound and incredibly consequential case for future U.S.-Native relations if it were not for a complete and total failure on all forms of government. Going against the separation of powers, President Andrew Jackson famously responded to the court's rulings saying, "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it". Following this ridiculous response, the state of Georgia agreed and ignored both the ruling of the supreme court and the separation of state and federal powers. This was a major upset in the battle of states rights' just thirty years before the start of the Civil War.
As I stated previously in this article, the Cherokee Nation beat the United States at its own game, only to have the table flipped in their face when they rightfully won. This was then and remains to this day an embarrassment to the United States justice system, and further proof that if Andrew Jackson's spirit ever existed in the first place, it is surely rotting in hell.
The End of New Echota
Following the disregarding of Worcester v. Georgia, came that horrific event I'd mentioned before, the Trail of Tears. Fourteen years of progress, growth, and blazing a new path for the Cherokee, were all thrown aside, leaving nothing but death and sorrow in their wake. The Trail of Tears, which had already begun in 1831, was carried out to fruition, leaving New Echota a fading ghost town. The land surrounding New Echota was given away in land lotteries, and the buildings were left to decay, as they were no longer relevant to the state of Georgia. Not every story is fortunate enough to have a happy ending, and in the case of the Cherokee, there were more valleys than peaks in their near future. Although the Cherokee have managed to save two out of three dialects of their language, continue to read and write in Cherokee, and have even revitalized historic legacies like that of the Cherokee Phoenix, and have once again officially been recognized as the Cherokee Nation, they have never returned to the land that was stolen from them at New Echota.
Sources:
The Cherokee Phoenix - https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/culture/193-years-of-native-american-journalism/article_20f6ce1c-7465-11eb-a358-cfc965edf4bd.html
Cherokee Government - https://www.todayingeorgiahistory.org/tih-georgia-day/cherokee-constitution/
Worcester V. Georgia -https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/supremecourt/antebellum/landmark_cherokee.html
Cherokee Government - https://www.todayingeorgiahistory.org/tih-georgia-day/cherokee-constitution/
Worcester V. Georgia -https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/supremecourt/antebellum/landmark_cherokee.html
|
|
|