History buffs in other parts of the country may know Chattanooga only for its importance during the Civil War. However, a new book by NPR’s Steve Inskeeprecounts a lesser-known regional conflict, and it's a story that deserves to be heard and remembered.
Jacksonland: President Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross, And A Great American Land Grabrecounts how, in the early and mid-1800s, this area was known as Ross's Landing, and the Tennessee River divided the region into the Cherokee Nation and the "whiteside." The book starts, surprisingly enough, with Ross and Jackson as allies fighting together during the War of 1812. It ends with Ross and Jackson as bitter enemies fighting against each other for control of the Cherokee Nation's land.
It reminds you that if the Cherokees had been allowed to stay, Chattanooga and North Georgia would likely be very different places today.
Because of Inskeep's clear, compelling prose, it reads like a novel, although it's nonfiction.
Andrew Jackson is the antagonist. He believes the young United States must expand its territory, even if that means forcing Native Americans onto the Trail of Tears. After pressuring Cherokees and other tribes to give up their homes, he personally profits when land is sold. Yet he doesn't see himself as a villain; he seems to feel justified in what he's doing. From his point of view, relocation is the best plan to keep Cherokees safe from attacks by white settlers.
Opposing him is Chief John Ross, a shrewd, stalwart leader who uses nonviolent tactics to resist. He files lawsuits to keep Cherokee land, winning a Supreme Court decision (tragically, never enforced.) He helps start a Cherokee newspaper, which allows articles written from their point of view to be reprinted around the country, gaining them allies and sympathizers. He repeatedly visits Washington, D.C. to meet with politicians, and is an eloquent speaker and writer.
As a child in Chattanooga, I grew up knowing basic facts about Ross: that he founded Ross's Landing, a precursor to my hometown; that he became Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation; that he and his people left here on the Trail of Tears.
Because my roots are here, I'd always had questions: how could white settlers (potentially my own ancestors) be so callous? How did they justify forcing Cherokees out of their houses? The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokees, so how did the Cherokees lose their land?
Inskeep's Jacksonland has plenty of answers.
It also gives a fresh understanding of Ross. He's shown to be something of a precursor to Martin Luther King, Jr. Rather than waging a fruitless, bloody war against the encroaching whites, Ross uses tools of diplomacy and democracy to resist. He works with his people to write their own Constitution and to hold elections. He says, in effect, that Cherokees are citizens of a real nation and should not be treated like savages or children.
Inskeep co-hosts NPR’s flagship news program Morning Edition, which is broadcast on WUTC 88.1 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. In this interview, he discusses how his work as a radio journalist influenced his writing style; how he personally became interested in the life of Chief John Ross; and much more.
