Malcolm Rivera
John Ross, the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1828 to 1866, played a significant role in drafting the Cherokee Constitution. In 1827, he was elected to the constitutional committee, which created a constitution establishing a principal chief, a council of principal chiefs, and a National Committee, collectively forming the General Council of the Cherokee Nation. This constitution was ratified in 1827 but replaced by the 1839 Cherokee Constitution, which Ross also helped write after leading his people to their new home in Indian Territory. This new constitution established rules for electing leaders and managing the lands of the Nation.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year | 1839 |
| Type of document | Constitution |
| Signed by | Ross; George Lowrey, president of the National Committee; Goingsnake, speaker of the council; and 13 others |
| Signed on behalf of | The Ross Party |
| Date signed | September 6, 1839 |
| Superseded by | The 1975 Cherokee Constitution |
| Date superseded | October 1975 |
| Signatories | Principal Chief Ross Swimmer |
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What You'll Learn
John Ross was elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1828
John Ross was a prominent Cherokee political leader in the nineteenth century. He played a crucial role in establishing the Cherokee national government and served as the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation for almost four decades, from 1828 until his death in 1866.
Ross was born in 1790 in Turkey Town, a Cherokee settlement in what is now northeast Alabama. His father, Daniel Ross, was a Scottish trader, and his mother, Mollie Ross, was a member of the Cherokee tribe. Due to the Cherokee's matrilineal system, Ross was considered a full member of the tribe. He received a European-American education and also grew up immersed in Cherokee culture.
In 1811, at the age of twenty, Ross was appointed as a US Indian agent. During the War of 1812, he served as an adjutant of a Cherokee regiment under the command of Andrew Jackson. After the war, he started a tobacco plantation and various businesses in Tennessee, including a ferry service and a warehouse on the Tennessee River.
Ross's political career began in 1816 when he joined a Cherokee delegation to Washington, DC, as a negotiator on issues of national boundaries, land ownership, and white encroachment. As the only delegate fluent in English, he became the principal negotiator. In 1817, he was elected to the National Council of the Cherokee Nation and became its president the following year. In 1819, he was named President of the National Committee, the lower house of the Cherokee government.
In 1827, the Cherokee Council, with Ross as a member, adopted their first constitution, establishing executive, legislative, and judicial branches of their government. This constitution called for a principal chief, a council of principal chiefs, and a National Committee, forming the General Council of the Cherokee Nation. It was ratified in October 1827 but did not take effect until October 1828, when John Ross was elected as the Principal Chief.
As Principal Chief, Ross led the Cherokee Nation through tumultuous events, including forced removal to Indian Territory and the American Civil War. He worked tirelessly to protect Cherokee lands and sovereignty, even as the Cherokee people faced violent reprisals and struggles with pro-treaty factions. Ross was committed to maintaining neutrality during the Civil War, but various conditions made this challenging. Despite these challenges, Ross remained the leader of a unified Cherokee Nation until his death in 1866.
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Ross helped draft the 1839 Cherokee Constitution
John Ross was a prominent leader of the Cherokee Nation in the 19th century. Born to a Scottish father and a mother of Cherokee descent, Ross grew up as a Native American and was educated at Kingston Academy in Tennessee. He was also an astute businessman and owned a 200-acre farm and several slaves.
In the early 1800s, he became a leader of the Cherokee resistance, fighting against white settlers' attempts to displace the Cherokee from their ancestral lands. Ross served as president of the Cherokee National Council from 1819 to 1826 and was instrumental in drafting the Cherokee Constitution in 1827, which established executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Cherokee government. This constitution was modelled after the US Constitution and included a bicameral legislature, a national court system, and a principal chief.
In 1828, John Ross was elected as the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. He continued to lead the resistance against land displacement and turned to the press and the courts for support. Despite his efforts, the Indian Removal Act was passed in 1830, forcing the Cherokee and other tribes to relinquish their traditional lands. Ross led his people on the infamous Trail of Tears to their new home west of the Mississippi River.
In their new territory, Ross worked to unite the Cherokee people and played a crucial role in drafting the 1839 Cherokee Constitution. This constitution was born out of the Act of Union, which aimed to unite the Eastern Cherokees or the Ross Party, and the Old Settlers who had settled in Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma earlier in the century. The 1839 Constitution established rules for the election of legislators and chiefs, common holding of lands, and suffrage for boys over 18 years of age. It also divided the Cherokee Nation into nine districts for civil administration and the apportionment of legislators.
The 1839 Cherokee Constitution was a significant milestone in the history of the Cherokee Nation, and John Ross's leadership and contributions were instrumental in its creation.
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The constitution was ratified in 1827
In the early 19th century, John Ross emerged as a prominent leader of the Cherokee resistance to the acquisition of their land by white settlers. In 1819, he became the president of the Cherokee National Council and exposed attempts by federal commissioners to bribe him into approving Cherokee land sales. In 1823, he was elected to the twenty-four-member constitutional committee, which drafted a constitution for the Cherokee Nation. This constitution was ratified in 1827 and established a three-branch government with executive, legislative, and judicial powers. It called for a principal chief, a council of principal chiefs, and a National Committee, which together formed the General Council of the Cherokee Nation, a constitutional republic.
The adoption of this constitution was an important milestone for the Cherokee Nation, as it provided a clear, long-range policy to protect their national rights. However, it also provoked opposition from the state of Georgia, which considered it an insult to its sovereignty. Despite support from individuals in the National Republican Party, such as senators Henry Clay and Theodore Frelinghuysen, Ross was unable to prevent the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830, which forced the Cherokee and other tribes to cede their lands and move west of the Mississippi River.
After the passage of the Indian Removal Act, Ross continued to lead the Cherokee resistance and was chosen as the principal chief of the new government established under the 1839 Cherokee Constitution. This constitution was signed on September 6, 1839, after contentious meetings between the Eastern Cherokees or the Ross Party, and the Old Settlers. It established rules for the election of legislators and chiefs, common holding of lands, and suffrage for boys over 18 years of age. The 1839 Constitution was superseded by the 1975 Cherokee Constitution, which was signed by Principal Chief Ross Swimmer and included a Bill of Rights, specifications for tribal citizenship, and other important provisions.
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The constitution was modelled after the US Constitution
The Cherokee Nation's 1839 Constitution was signed on September 6, 1839, after meetings between two Cherokee factions: the Eastern Cherokees or the Ross Party, and the Old Settlers. The document was established after the Cherokee had been forced to move to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) on what became known as the Trail of Tears.
The 1839 Constitution was not the first for the Cherokee Nation. In the 1820s, the Cherokee Council passed a series of laws creating a bicameral national government, adopting a structure similar to that of the US government. In 1822, they created the Cherokee Supreme Court, completing a three-branch government. In May 1827, John Ross was elected to the twenty-four-member constitutional committee, which drafted a constitution calling for a principal chief, a council of the principal chiefs, and a National Committee. This constitution was ratified in October 1827 and took effect in October 1828, at which point Ross was elected principal chief.
The 1827 constitution was modelled after the US Constitution. It included a Senate and a House of Representatives, as well as executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The 1839 Constitution also bore similarities to the US Constitution, establishing rules for the election of legislators and chiefs, common holding of lands, and suffrage for boys over 18 years of age.
The 1839 Constitution was superseded by the 1975 Cherokee Constitution, which contained a Bill of Rights, specifications for tribal citizenship, three branches of government, tribal elections, qualifications for elected office, and rules for council meetings. The 1975 Constitution was revised and updated in 1999, and Cherokee voters approved an amendment removing federal requirements for amendments to the 1975 Constitution. The 1999 Constitution became the tribe's supreme law in July 2006.
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The Cherokee Constitution was signed in September 1839
The Cherokee Constitution, signed on September 6, 1839, was a significant document in the history of the Cherokee Nation. It was signed after contentious meetings between two Cherokee factions: the Eastern Cherokees or the Ross Party, led by Principal Chief John Ross, and the Old Settlers, who had settled in Arkansas and what is now eastern Oklahoma in the early 1800s. A third faction, the so-called Treaty Party, had sided with the Old Settlers after signing away the remaining Cherokee land in the Southeast in 1835.
John Ross, a fair-skinned man of Scottish and Cherokee heritage, grew up as a Native American and became the leader of the Cherokee resistance to the acquisition of their land by white settlers in the early 19th century. He served as president of the Cherokee National Council from 1819 to 1826 and was elected to the constitutional committee in 1827. He was also instrumental in drafting the 1827 Cherokee Constitution, which established a three-branch government with a principal chief, a council of principal chiefs, and a National Committee.
The 1839 Constitution was born out of the Act of Union, which aimed to unite the two factions of the Cherokee Nation. It established rules for the election of legislators and chiefs and the common holding of the Nation's lands. It also granted suffrage to boys over 18 years of age. The CN was divided into nine districts: Canadian, Illinois, Sequoyah, Flint, Delaware, Goingsnake, Tahlequah, Saline, and Cooweescoowee, the last being named after John Ross' Cherokee name.
The 1839 Constitution was superseded by the 1975 Cherokee Constitution, which introduced a Bill of Rights, specifications for tribal citizenship, and rules for tribal elections and council meetings. However, the 1839 Constitution remains a significant milestone in the Cherokee Nation's history, with its signing commemorated during the Cherokee National Holiday.
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Frequently asked questions
In 1827, John Ross was elected to the 24-member constitutional committee that drafted the Cherokee Constitution. The constitution was ratified in October 1827 but did not take effect until October 1828, at which point Ross was elected principal chief.
John Ross was the leader of the Eastern Cherokees or the Ross Party, one of the two Cherokee factions that met to sign the 1839 Cherokee Constitution. He was also one of the signatories of the Act of Union, which allowed for the creation of the 1839 Constitution.
The 1839 Cherokee Constitution established rules for the election of legislators and chiefs, common holding of lands, and suffrage for boys over 18 years of age. It also divided the Cherokee Nation into nine districts for civil administration and the apportionment of legislators.
The 1839 Cherokee Constitution was an important milestone in the history of the Cherokee Nation, as it united two factions: the Eastern Cherokees or the Ross Party, and the Old Settlers. It also provided a framework for self-governance and helped to preserve the Cherokee Nation's culture and identity.
The 1839 Cherokee Constitution was superseded by the 1975 Cherokee Constitution, which was signed by Principal Chief Ross Swimmer. The 1975 Constitution contained a Bill of Rights, specifications for tribal citizenship, and rules for tribal elections and council meetings.
