President Andrew Jackson had signed the Indian Removal
Act in May of 1830. The White people of Georgia, however, believed that he
wasn’t moving quickly enough to dispossess the Indians of their land. And, make
no mistake, White Georgians desperately wanted their land. The territory that
had recently been acquired from the Creeks had not been sufficient to quench
the White man’s lust for land.
2 Georgia was determined to exert the state’s
authority over all of the lands and people within its borders. The federal
government in distant Washington had allowed the Cherokees to formulate their
own laws and police their own people. Georgians, therefore, had recently
enacted a number of laws to assert their state’s jurisdiction over the Indians
and make it more difficult for them to resist the efforts of White settlers.
Things were now moving rapidly in the direction of a show down between the
state and the tribe.
3 “Have you been followin what’s going on in Georgia?”
Dempsey asked his father. “We are not going to involve ourselves in the
politics of the Cherokee!” Thomas told his son.
4 “Father, why have you deliberately pursued
obscurity?” his son demanded. “Our family has always been respected among our
people. You could have a prominent place among the chiefs if you wanted it.”
5 “I don’t want it!” Thomas responded in exasperation.
“Well, that is clear enough, but why? Why have you refused to join with our
family and people in resisting the
efforts of the Whites to take our land?” Dempsey persisted.
6 “You talk about our family and people, but more of
our forefathers were White than Cherokee. And, make no mistake, the White
people are going to prevail in this struggle. Do you want to be associated with
the side that loses?” the old man demanded.
7 “Your nephew, James, was a prominent chief. His son,
Joe, is wealthy and respected. Mother’s family resisted these people and were
leaders among our people. Ruth’s father is a chief,” Dempsey insisted.
8 “Yes and look at where that has gotten them. James
lived by the gun and died by the gun. Joe is rich, but the state of Georgia is
trying to take away everything he has. I’m supposed to be proud of that history
and want to share in it? No thank you!” Thomas declared.
9 Dempsey grimaced in pain, and the expression on his
father’s face softened. “Look, son, we have to focus on getting you well,”
Thomas told him. “You’re burnin up with fever. Don’t waste your energy on
things that don’t concern us anyway.”
10 “How can you say that this doesn’t concern us?”
Dempsey shrieked. “Your father is right,” Anne intervened as she took a cool
cloth and dabbed at the perspiration on her son’s forehead. “You should be
quiet and rest. We’ve got to build your strength back up and get you well!”
11 “Look son,” Thomas said as he placed his right hand
on his son’s forehead, “we have the blood of two nations within us.” Dempsey
looked away, but his father took hold of his chin and made him look at him.
“They struggle against each other, and the stronger will prevail. We, however,
will still have the blood of the other within us. A part of them will survive
through us. Can’t you see that?” Thomas finished. Dempsey feebly shook his head
and closed his eyes.
12 A few days later, he was dead. “Harmon, you and Jim
go dig a hole for Mr. Dempsey’s grave,” Old Moses told the younger slaves.
“I’ll start sewin on his burial clothes,” their mother volunteered.
13 “Thank you, Rachel, Miss Anne is feelin too poorly
to tend to it right now,” Thomas told her. “Those shovels are in the shed,
boys,” he shouted after Harmon and Jim. “Yessa, Massa!” Harmon hollered over
his shoulder.
14 Anne was sick now. She had the same symptoms that
her son had exhibited before his death: diarrhea and fever. Thomas could see
that she was fading fast.
15 “The whole world is fallin apart!” Thomas exclaimed
in exasperation. “The world will go on without us,” Anne reminded him.
16 “What about our poor Mary?” Thomas demanded. “She
can stay with Edward or Bryant, and Moses and Rachel can take care of her,”
Anne reassured her troubled husband.
17 “Old Moses is blind now!” Thomas protested. “Yes,
but he has always been able to calm her down,” Anne persisted. “She always has
loved him and Rachel,” her husband admitted. “Mary is still like a child in her
mind – they’ll be able to manage with her just fine,” Anne added. “I guess
you’re right,” Thomas finally conceded.
18 “Was Dempsey right too?” he asked her. “Have I been
a coward?” “No, Dempsey was not right,” Anne smiled. “You have protected your
family from all of that foolishness. Don’t you start doubting yourself now.”
19 She took a deep breath and bit her lower lip. “I
can’t lose you too,” he said as tears filled his eyes. “We have to bear what
the Lord gives us to bear,” she whispered, and then she was gone.
20 A few months later, the situation in Georgia that
had been simmering for years finally reached the boiling point. The Cherokee
Nation sent a delegation to Washington in an attempt to persuade the federal
government to intervene on their behalf.
21 Unfortunately, the current President of the United
States (Andrew Jackson) was hostile to the Cherokee cause and was inclined to
side with Georgia. Nevertheless, the delegation was able to secure the services
of former Attorney General William Wirt in representing them against Georgia in
a case before the Supreme Court.
22 “The Government of Georgia has sought to annihilate
the rights of a foreign nation to their lands and laws – rights that were
guaranteed to them by a treaty with the Government of the United States of
America,” Wirt argued before the Court. Realizing that Chief Justice Marshall
would be hesitant to issue an order that President Jackson would probably not
enforce, Wirt decided to directly confront the issue in his remarks. “Your
decree will declare the law – it is the sworn duty of the President to execute
that law! If the President refuses to enforce the law, the Constitution has
provided the means to censure him for his failure to do so.”
23 Nevertheless, although John Marshall sympathized
with the plight of the Cherokee people, he did not want to precipitate a
confrontation with Georgia or the President. In discussing the matter with his
fellow justices, he said: “Mr. Wirt has argued that the Cherokee Indians
constitute a foreign state, but they do not conform to the way that such is
defined in the Constitution. It must be admitted that the relationship between
the United States and these people has been marked by peculiar distinctions
that do not exist between that government and any other nation. Wouldn’t it be
more accurate to describe them as a domestic nation that is dependent on the
United States?”
24 A majority of the justices agreed with their chief:
The Cherokee people could not be considered a foreign nation. Thus, the matter
was not within their jurisdiction to
decide. The Supreme Court would not provide the relief that the Indians had
sought.
25 “My conscience is not clear in this matter,”
Marshall confessed to one of his friends. “I am repulsed by the oppression that
has been visited upon these helpless people,” he continued. “They have depended
on our magnanimity and justice to no avail. The treatment of our aborigines is
a deep stain on the character of our country!” the Chief Justice concluded.
26 God was listening. John Marshall would be given
another opportunity to set things straight the following year.
27 Samuel Worcester, a missionary among the Cherokees,
was arrested by Georgia authorities for failing to procure a license to live
among the Indians and was later convicted of the “crime.” The governor offered
Reverend Worcester a pardon, but he refused to accept it. Instead, he appealed
directly to the Supreme Court for relief.
28 Justice Baldwin sent Governor Lumpkin official
notice that the matter of Worcester v.
Georgia would be argued before the next session of the Court. “We will not
submit to control over our criminal jurisdiction!” the governor declared. “We
will resist any effort to infringe on the right of our state to govern all of
the people within its borders!”
29 William Wirt again argued the case before the
Court. This time, however, the question before the Court was different: Did
federal law trump state law? And there was no question that Samuel Worcester
was a citizen of the United States and entitled to appear before the Court.
30 “The law under which this man was prosecuted was
repugnant to a treaty between the Cherokee people and the government of the
United States and is, therefore, unconstitutional and void,” the Chief Justice
announced. “The state of Georgia does not have the authority to impose its own
laws on these people,” he concluded.
31 “Mr. Marshall has issued his decision, now let him
enforce it!” President Jackson declared. “I hope that he doesn’t expect me to
lift a finger to do so.”
32 Thus, the Court’s decision in Worcester v. Georgia did not provide any relief for the Cherokee
people. In fact, it only redoubled the efforts of Georgia and the President to
extinguish their rights to their remaining lands and remove them from the
state.
33 A few years later, under intense pressure from the
United States and Georgia, Major Ridge consented to the Treaty of New Echota on
behalf of his people. Under the terms of the agreement, the tribe would give up
its lands in Georgia in exchange for lands in what would one day become
Oklahoma.
34 Chief John Ross had opposed the measure, but Andrew
Jackson was determined to see it adopted. It would, however, be left to his
successor to fully implement the measure.
35 In 1838, President Martin Van Buren ordered federal
troops into the territory of the Cherokee to begin rounding them up for removal
to the West. Unfortunately, the operation included the Indians residing within
the state of Alabama. In fact, one of the camps that had been established for
holding them was located near what would later become Fort Payne, Alabama.
36 “Have you heard about what the army is doing to our
people?” Bryant asked his grandfather. “I have heard about it,” Thomas Vann
replied. “Are we just going to stand by and watch?” Bryant asked.
37 “I remember having a similar talk with your father
just before he died,” the old man responded. “The Whites are our people too,”
he continued. “Our Indian kin have been
foolish in their actions and relations, and they are suffering the consequences
of that now.”
38 “How can we ignore this, grandfather?” Bryant
pleaded. “We share their blood, and we are still here,” Thomas reassured him.
“They are leaving, but we will remain. A part of them will remain on a part of
their land through us,” the old man finished.
39 Even so, Thomas was not as convinced as he had once
been that the course which he had pursued had been the right one. He had heard
about how his people were dying, and how his wealthy grandnephew had been
evicted from his home in Georgia. As the stories of the journey to the West
began to reach Madison County, Thomas Vann went to bed. Within a week, he had
died of a broken heart.
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