White Americans at this time generally regarded the American Indian as an "uncivilized savage." Within this basic view, there were a range of beliefs about the indigenous peoples and how they should be treated, but overall there was little, if any, recognition that the Native Americans should be treated on an equal footing with people of European descent. The takeover of the indigenous peoples' lands was rationalized by the belief that it was the destiny of white people to conquer the entire continent, almost in a biblical sense—as God had granted the land of Canaan to the Israelites.
Thomas Jefferson had expressed a relatively enlightened view about Native Americans. He memorialized the Mingo leader Logan as a noble representative of a defeated people. In contrast to his view of African Americans, Jefferson did believe that the indigenous peoples had a place in the future of America. This would only happen, however, if they adopted the white man's ways, abandoning those aspects of their native culture that white citizens regarded as uncivilized. Jefferson also believed white people and Native Americans should and would intermarry. Jefferson admired aspects of the culture of the American Indian and believed that a stronger America could be created by either the adoption of the European culture by the indigenous people or by the absorption of their culture into that of the white Americans.
Given these views (and Jefferson was not alone in his beliefs), the Cherokee nation believed that by demonstrating their adoption of a constitution, along with a writing system based on that of the white citizens, they would be seen as just the example of "civilized" behavior that Jefferson and others had expressed the wish they would adopt. The Cherokees already did practice agriculture, and this was seen as another primary aspect of a more advanced way of living—beyond the stereotype of the society based on gathering, hunting, and fishing many of the white people believed was all the Native peoples were capable of. With a constitution, law, writing, and agriculture, there was no reason the Cherokee should not be accepted on an equal footing with the white citizens.
Unfortunately, too many Americans continued to believe the American Indians were inferior and incapable of a "civilized" way of life. They also simply wanted the land of the Cherokees and the other Nations and, as stated, believed their destiny was to conquer, or at least used that belief to justify what turned out to be pure theft, an enormous land grab. Especially given the expansion of the US through the Louisiana Purchase, there was an enormous territory to the west to which unscrupulous leaders like President Andrew Jackson and his successors could exile the Cherokees and other American Indians, and this is exactly what was done in the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and subsequent measures.
The Cherokee Nation, an indigenous group with roots in the southeastern United States, wrote a Constitution in 1827. Their goal was to provide the tribe with a legal structure and consistent system of governance. However, this did not take place in a vacuum. In other words, the historical context of the time propelled the Cherokee to embark on this political project.
The Cherokee had conflict with European-Americans since some of the first settlements. War was fairly constant, and Cherokee land was under threat. Being politically aware, the Nation realized that they were in danger of losing their land; some members of the tribe had been pushed off of their land already. The Cherokee Constitution was a way to prevent these kinds of abuses—such as forced relocation and constant warfare—from occurring.
The 1827 Cherokee Constitution was very similar to the US Constitution. Taking inspiration from the political philosophy of the US, the Cherokee sought to assert themselves as an independent, sovereign nation. According to this point of view, the US government would have to take the Cherokee seriously as a governing body. If the US government were true to its political documents, it would have respected the Cherokee government. However, only a few years after the Cherokee Constitution was drafted, the Trail of Tears—the forced relocation of thousands of Native Americans—began.
The short answer to this is that the Cherokee Nation knew that they would have much more weight as an established democratic nation. While the United States still may not have listened to their wishes, they would at least be able to present themselves as a constitutional democracy on roughly the same level as the American Federal government.
In addition to their desire to carry more political weight and have some leverage in their favor for negotiation, the Cherokee Nation also realized that there was a perception issue. The people wanted to change their image from the popular opinion of savages in the eyes of the American nation. They realized they would be more respected if they were seen as civilized and dignified instead of savage, and this would help their bargaining.
In 1827, the Cherokee Nation adopted a constitution modeled on that of the United States. The Cherokee Constitution called for executive, legislative, and judicial branches and provided a detailed explanation of the rights held by members of the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokees believed that the constitution would solidify their status as a sovereign nation, thus helping to shield their people from oppression and the confiscation of their lands at the hands of the United States. If the Cherokees were able to establish themselves as a separate, sovereign nation, the United States would not be able to arbitrarily control them like it had in the past.
In addition to this legal argument, some Cherokees believed that a constitution would counter white stereotyping of Indians as savages. The constitution was written in the same period in which the tribe had achieved almost complete literacy among its members and only a few years after Sequoyah’s Cherokee syllabary was developed. By conforming to these Western standards of civilization, some Cherokees hoped that they would be treated more fairly by the oppressive American government.
No comments:
Post a Comment