AP Success - AP US History: Cherokee Women's Petition

In the early 19th century, the US government passed a series of laws aimed at removing Native American tribes from their ancestral lands and relocating them west of the Mississippi River. The Cherokee Nation, located in what is now Georgia, was one of the tribes targeted for removal. In response, a group of Cherokee women wrote a petition in 1831 addressed to the Committee and Council, expressing their opposition.
To the Committee and Council.
We the females, residing in Saleqouyee and Pine Log, believing that the present difficulties and embarrassments under which this nation is placed demands a full expression of the mind of every individual, on the subject of emigrating to Arkansas, would take upon ourselves to address you. Although it is not common for our sex to take part in public measures, we nevertheless feel justified in expressing our sentiments on any subject where our interest is as much at stake as any other part of the community.
We believe the present plan of the General Government to effect our removal west of the Mississippi, and thus obtain our lands for the use of the State of Georgia, to be highly oppressive, cruel and unjust. And we sincerely hope that is no consideration which can induce our citizens to forsake the land of our fathers of which they have been in possession from time immemorial, and thus compel us, against our will, to undergo the toils and difficulties of removing with our helpless families hundreds of miles to unhealthy and unproductive country. We hope therefore the Committee and Council will take into deep consideration our deplorable situation, and do everything in their power to avert such a state of things. And we trust by a prudent course their transactions with the General Government will enlist in our behalf the sympathies of the good people of the United States.
Cherokee Women’s Petition, 1831.

Question 1

Short answer
Briefly describe one perspective expressed by the writer about Native American relocation.

Question 2

Short answer
Briefly explain how one historical event or development led to the situation expressed in the excerpt.

Question 3

Short answer
Briefly explain one outcome of the government policies described in the excerpt on the Cherokee people. 

Teach with AI superpowers

Why teachers love Class Companion

Import assignments to get started in no time.

Create your own rubric to customize the AI feedback to your liking.

Overrule the AI feedback if a student disputes.

Other U.S. History Assignments

10/4: Foreign Policy in the Early Republic10/4: Foreign Policy in the Early Republic11.1 Colonial Foundations11.2 CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS (1763 – 1824)11.2 Reliability - Declaration of Independence11.2 Reliability - Declaration of Independence11.3 Reliability - Monroe Doctrine1 - 4.6 (a) Market Revolution: Society and Culture1 - 4.6 (b) Market Revolution: Society and Culture1 - 4.8 (a) Jackson and Federal Power1 - 4.8 (b) Jackson and Federal Power1 - 4.8 (c) Jackson and Federal Power14th & 15th Amendments 1865-18771920s and 30s Short Answer Practice1920s: Cultural and Political Controversies1920s Cultural Developments1920s DBQ1920s SAQ1950s conformity19th c. African American Experience DBQ19th Century Immigration and Economic Growth in the United States19th Century Industrialists: Captains of Industry or Robber Barons2000 DBQ: Organized Labor's Success in Improving Workers' Position (1875-1900)2006 AP United States History Free-Response Questions20s, 30's WWII- Essay 12.2 - Puritan Settlement of Massachusetts Bay2.3 Comparing the British Colonial Regions2.3 European Colonization - Map SAQ2.3 Geography of British Colonial Regions2 - 4.6 (a) Market Revolution: Society and Culture2 - 4.6 (b) Market Revolution: Society and Culture2 - 4.6 (c) Market Revolution: Society and Culture2 - 4.8 (a) Jackson and Federal Power2 - 4.8 (b) Jackson and Federal Power2 - 4.8 (c) Jackson and Federal Power2.5 - British and French Interactions with Native Americans2.5 Gary Nash - Red, White, and Black Excerpt2nd Dilemma--Advice to President Adams: Response to Tribute Demands3.10- American Foreign Policy (1789-1800)3.2 The Seven Years' War - Territorial Changes3.6 - Historians on women and the American Revolution3.6 - Historians on women and the American Revolution3.6- Interpretations of the American Revolution3.7(a) Articles of Confederation3.7(b) Articles of Confederation3.7 Understanding the Articles of Confederation3.7 Understanding the Articles of Confederation - Option C3.8 Articles to Consitution3.8- Founding Fathers' Leadership and the Ratification of the Constitution3.8 - Historians on the U.S. Constitution