Rivers, Roads, and Rails: The Influence of Transportation Needs and Internal Improvements on Cherokee Treaties and Removal from 1779 to 1838

Author

Vicki Bell Rozema, University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Date of Award

12-2007

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

History

Major Professor

Daniel Feller

Committee Members

Lorri Glover, Stephen V. Ash

Abstract

This study examines the importance of transportation routes and internal improvements as factors in treaty negotiations and the removal of the Cherokees. Covering a period from approximately 1779 to 1838, the date of forced Cherokee removal from east of the Mississippi, it argues that the Cherokees opposed the construction of military roads and turnpikes and interfered with travel through Cherokee country. Safe passage clauses in Cherokee treaties, issues dealing with passports through Cherokee country, and disputes over ferries and taverns on transportation routes are reviewed. The plans of Southern leaders such as John C. Calhoun and Wilson Lumpkin to build canals and railroads through the Cherokee Nation are explored. Euro-Americans perceived the Cherokee Nation as an obstacle to economic trade and commercial transportation.

Recommended Citation

Rozema, Vicki Bell, "Rivers, Roads, and Rails: The Influence of Transportation Needs and Internal Improvements on Cherokee Treaties and Removal from 1779 to 1838. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2007.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/203