The Cherokee Removal 3 Who Were the Evicted? 5 White Conquest by Infiltration and Treaty Making 7 Primitive Tribes to Civilized Nation 9 Ethnic Mixtures in the Cherokee Nation 10 Growth of Agriculture, Crafts, and Commerce 11 Cherokee Wealth Compared with that of Whites 12 Cherokee Literacy, Education, and Religions 14 The Cherokee Government 17 The Fatal Flaw 18 Government Ambiguity or Duplicity? 18 The Pressure Increases on the Cherokees 20 The Supreme Court Reaffirms Cherokee Sovereignty 21 The President Defies the Court 2 2 The Disputed Treaty 24 John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokees 2 5 Members of the Ridge Faction 3 0 The Principal Chief Is “Deposed” 34 The Treaty Is Declared a Fraud 3 5 The Treaty Is Ratified 3 8 Georgians Demand Protection 3 8 Cherokee Opposition to the Treaty Solidifies 40 General Wool Asks to be Relieved 42 The War Department Is Worried 44 Border Whites Grow More Impatient 45 1838, the Year of Removal Begins 46 Public Opinion Is Aroused Military Preparations Are Ordered 47 The President Offers a Compromise 48 The President Yields to a Governor 49 May 23, 1838 — the Roundup Begins 51 Birth of a Legend 53 Roundup Completed, Removal Begins 54 Removal Suspended 56 More Trouble W ith Emigrants en Route 57 Some Emigrants at Last Arrive 59 Degradation and Death in the Stockades 61 Where to Place the Blame? 61 Cherokees Organize Their Own Removal 63 Removal at Last Gets Under Way 64 Complacency in High Offices 65 Dissent and Refutation 66 Bleak Reality with the Caravans 67 The Summing Up 70 Afterword 73 A Selected Bibliography 79 Index 81