1828 First Printing of the Cherokee Nation Constitution, Settlement of Lands

Barbour, James; McKenney, Thomas L.; et al. Negotiation for Cherokee Lands : Letter from the Secretary of War, transmitting the Report of the Commissioners appointed to negotiate with the Cherokee Indians, for a certain portion of their Country. Washington: Printed by Gales & Seaton, 1828. First Edition. [11914] Removed, newly stab-sewn, 8 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches, 40 pages. Good. Pamphlet. 20th Congress, 1st Session, Document No. 106, House of Representatives. Reports and letters by and from both white and Native Americans, on the subject of the Cherokee Nation and its lands. There is distrust evident on both sides of the negotiations. Included are letters by the Cherokees and by the representatives of the US government. The problem was solved (from the point of view of the USA) by writing a Constitution for the Cherokee Nation that describes the new boundaries of their lands in Article 1 Section 1. This contains the first printing of the Constitution of the Cherokee Nation, "formed, by and through the white men and mixed blooded Indians resident in the nation, who fill nearly all the offices, rule the People, and dispose of the annuities paid by the United States, agreeably to their will and pleasure." p. 5. This Constitution is herein printed in full, and it sets the new boundaries of the nation. The government pattern mirrors the US Constitution, with three departments, Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The elected representatives to the Council must be free Cherokee men 25 years of age or older, and all blacks or mulattoes are excluded from this service. The chief executive is to be known as the "Principal Chief." Those serving a term as a justice must be at least 30 years of age. Christian ministers, whose duty is higher than civil government, ought not be diverted from their ministry to serve in civil government. Article 17. "No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this nation." This January 30, 1828 printing, "Read, and laid upon the table" is earlier than the Cherokee Constitution published February 21, 1828, in the first issue of the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper. This printing has Article 1. with 2 Sections; Article II. with 2 Sections; and Article III. with 23 Sections. Then, an unnumbered Article with 17 Sections. Finally, there are 29 Articles, each a brief paragraph. The Convention was held at New Echota, the then-capital of the Cherokee Nation near Calhoun, Georgia, and completed their work on the 26th of July, 1827. It was signed by John Ross, "President of the Convention, and Delegate from Chickamauga." There are 21 additional names of persons who signed the document.