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Constitution of the Cherokee Nation Page 309

Chapter 9

Constitution of the Cherokee Nation

Sequoia (ca. 1770-1843) developed a writing system for the Cherokee language in 1809, in which each of 85 symbols stands for a syllable.  In 1839, a Cherokee assembly used it to write the Constitution of the Cherokee Nation, which provided for all land to be common property, and for a chieftain, legislature, and judiciary to be elected by all males over 25 years old descended “from Cherokee men by free women.”   Black people and Cherokee men who were part black were explicitly denied a vote.

Questions for Analysis

1. How does the Cherokee constitution speak to the Civilization Policy that the federal government pursued in the beginning of the 19th century?

2. What makes a written constitution “civilized”?

 
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