United States History Student Edition

C Petition to Congress Opposing Indian Removal In Georgia, groups such as abolitionists and the Quakers stood up against Cherokee removal. This petition to the U.S. Congress demonstrates that opposition to Native American removal also existed outside of Georgia. It was signed by 62 women from Steubenville, Ohio, in 1830. The petition was not effective; the Indian Removal Act was passed a few months later.

PRIMARY SOURCE: DOCUMENT “ That your memorialists are deeply impressed with the belief, that the present crisis in the affairs of the Indian nations, calls loudly on all who can feel for the woes of humanity, to solicit , with earnestness, your honorable body to bestow on this subject, involving, as it does, the prosperity and happiness of more than fifty thousand of our fellow Christians, the immediate consideration demanded by its interesting nature and pressing importance. . . . When, therefore, injury and oppression threaten to crush a hapless people within our borders, we, the feeblest of the feeble, appeal with confidence to those who should be representatives of national virtues as they are the depositaries of national powers, and implore them to succor the weak and unfortunate. In despite of the undoubted national right which the Indians have to the land of their forefathers, and in the face of solemn treaties, pledging the faith of the nation for their secure possession of those lands, it is intended, we are told, to force them from their native soil, to compel them to seek new homes in a distant and dreary wilderness. To you, then, as the constitutional protectors of the Indians within our territory, and as the peculiar guardians of our

national character, and our [country’s] welfare, we solemnly and honestly appeal, to save this remnant of a much injured people from annihilation, to shield our country from the curses denounced on the cruel and ungrateful, and to shelter the American character from lasting dishonor. ” — From Report no. 209, 21st Congress, 1st Session, House of Representatives solicit to request, ask hapless unfortunate succor to care for, aid EXAMINE THE SOURCE 1. Explaining What reasons do the women of Steubenville give for why Congress should not displace Native Americans? 2. Identifying What kind of language did the women use to persuade Congress to change their minds? Give examples.

PHOTO: National Archives and Records Administration (NWL-233-PETITION-21AH11-2); TEXT: Memorial of the Ladies of Steubenville, Ohio, Protesting Indian Removal, February 15, 1830. Record Group 233: Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1789 - 2015, Series: Tabled Petitions and Memorials, 1797 - 1871.

Political and Geographic Changes 319