Question

Conduct Internet research and read the original letter that Chief John Ross wrote to President Lincoln in an effort to assuage his relationship with the Union. While reading, answer the following questions, based on the primary source of the letter: Why did Ross write the letter? What does Ross say ties the Cherokee to the U.S.? How does he compare the Cherokee to the U.S.? Why did the Cherokee join the Confederacy? What does Ross want?

Answer 1

Chief John Ross wants to assure President Lincoln that his and the Cherokee people's loyalty laid with the Union. He also expresses how Cherokee and the U.S are tied together by a series of treaties based on friendship and alliance to receive protection from the United States and no other sovereign. He affirms that despite having to reach an agreement with the confederates, people were still supporters of the Union and they showed so when the Indian Expedition took place in 1862 and how they manifest their support by fighting under the Union flag. Chief Ross was a defendant of neutrality during the Civil war, unfortunately he couldn't maintain this position and the pressure from other tribal leaders regarding their participation in the Civil War given the history they had with the north after the Trail of Tears forced relocation, most Cherokees were siding more with southern policies.  

With this letter, Ross wants to express to President Lincoln that he supports the United States of America and in exchange asks him not to abandon the Cherokee people, to honor former agreements and to protect people's life and property.