What I plan to write after this is how the Relationship between Chief Ross and Stand Watie adds another level of complexity to the story of race and the Civil War in the Cherokee Nation. It is in their rivalry I want to argue brough them into the Civil War even though they were assimilated to slavery. The motivation was less about fighting for slavery and more about fighting for their sovereignty, which Watie believed the Confederacy would grant them. Ross argued to stay neutral and had the support of abolitionist groups.
Other areas I am still researching and will include:
I’ve always found how the Cherokee traded African-Americans to be fascinating. As you touched upon, they adopted the western, white man’s attitude. They treated them like property, and some Cherokees were even slave owners. This attempt to assimilate into American culture sadly wasn’t enough though, as we forced them out of their homes to Oklahoma.
I just recently finished listening to Blood Moon: An American Epic of War and Splendor in the Cherokee Nation. Which is a historical narrative of the events in the Cherokee nation leading up to the American Civil War (though it spends very little time in the actual war and it’s aftermath) and I have to say that you have picked an absolutely fascinating topic to research. The whole Ridge vs Ross conflict is about as grey as they come from a modern perspective and you should defiantly expand upon that aspect of the Nation.
Additionally, it might be interesting to look into how modern Neo-Confederates have leveraged the Cherokee-Confederacy alliance as a moral justification for the actions of the South.
I really liked your intro paragraph. It lays out your thesis and what you’re going to write about in the paper very well. From the body paragraphs you already posted I can tell this will be a very substantive paper. I’m looking forward to the economic section on slavery. The article about the role of skin color bias and sovereignty sounds fascinating.
Thank you, I enjoyed your first draft and look forward to learning more about the Cherokee Nation and their alliance with the Confederacy.
I’ve always found how the Cherokee traded African-Americans to be fascinating. As you touched upon, they adopted the western, white man’s attitude. They treated them like property, and some Cherokees were even slave owners. This attempt to assimilate into American culture sadly wasn’t enough though, as we forced them out of their homes to Oklahoma.
I just recently finished listening to Blood Moon: An American Epic of War and Splendor in the Cherokee Nation. Which is a historical narrative of the events in the Cherokee nation leading up to the American Civil War (though it spends very little time in the actual war and it’s aftermath) and I have to say that you have picked an absolutely fascinating topic to research. The whole Ridge vs Ross conflict is about as grey as they come from a modern perspective and you should defiantly expand upon that aspect of the Nation.
Additionally, it might be interesting to look into how modern Neo-Confederates have leveraged the Cherokee-Confederacy alliance as a moral justification for the actions of the South.
I really liked your intro paragraph. It lays out your thesis and what you’re going to write about in the paper very well. From the body paragraphs you already posted I can tell this will be a very substantive paper. I’m looking forward to the economic section on slavery. The article about the role of skin color bias and sovereignty sounds fascinating.