Chapter 3 Alabama: Territory & State
Lesson 1 (page 71) 13 Colonies began to object the way the British king and Parliament made rules for them. France & Spain helped the colonies win the war. BrainPOP Video-- American Revolution
Lesson 1 (pages 72-73) The British surrendered at Yorktown in 1781. 1783 The Treaty of Paris was signed which recognized American Independence. Alexander McGillivray, and the Creek Indians, began making treaties with the Americans AND the Spanish. BrainPOP Video-- Causes of The American Revolution
Lesson 1 (page 73) Benjamin Hawkins was appointed by George Washington (president at that time) to be an Indian Agent. Benjamin s plan was to encourage the Indians to adopt the ways of the settlers. What did this mean?
Lesson 1 (page 73) The Ellicott Line marks part of the boundary between Alabama and Florida. The Spanish were shocked to discover that their new town, St. Stephens, was in U.S. territory.
Lesson 1 (page 74) The Federal Road was used by U.S. postal riders. Many were lost and never to be found. In 1805 the Indians agreed to allow improvements on the horse path and promised not to attack.
Lesson 1 (page 75) Sequoyah created an alphabet for the Cherokee language.
Lesson 2 (pages 76-77) Tensions grew between Creeks who lived as Indians and those who adopted the ways of the settlers. Chief Tecumseh was a great orator and urged the Indians to keep the traditions and ways of their people.
Lesson 2 (pages 78-79) Creek War of 1813-1814. The Creeks were divided. Some Creeks (Red Sticks) wanted. William Weatherford or Red Eagle was among their leaders. Others (White Sticks) wanted. They were joined by the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians. The Creek War began with a fight at.
Lesson 2 (pages 80-81) The Fort Mims massacre occurred when William Weatherford or Red Eagle led the Red Sticks in an attack that begun as the settlers were eating. Approximately 250 died at Fort Mims.
Lesson 2 (pages 82-83) The Choctaw Indians promised perpetual peace & friendship to the Americans after they won their Independence. They helped out the Americans during the Creek War. Pushmataha was a strong leader of the Choctaw Indians.
Lesson 2 (page 84) The Canoe Fight in the Middle of the Alabama River.. 3 members of local militia saw 9 painted Indians in a large war canoe coming down the river, so they jumped into a small canoe and paddled out. The men and Indians fought hand to hand. The Indians lost and 4 men became heroes.
Lesson 2 (page 85) Fall of 1813 Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, White Stick Creeks, and Andrew Jackson with his militia, The Tennessee Volunteers, joined to fight the Red Sticks. Jackson & The Volunteers destroyed the village of Tallaseehatchee. Chief Pushmataha s Choctaw warriors attacked Holy Ground and defeated the Indians.
Lesson 2 (page 86) The Red Sticks never received all the arms & ammunition promised by Spain and Great Britain. Under the leadership of Chief Menewa, they gathered at a small bend on the Tallapoosa River. General Jackson saw their position and said they have penned themselves up for slaughter.
Lesson 2 (page 86) On March 27, 1814, General Jackson closed in on the fortified position. Cherokee Indians swam the river and destroyed the Creek canoes to prevent escape. Chief Menewa and his warriors were trapped in the horseshoe. The battle lasted all day and it was said that the river ran red with blood for hours afterward.
Lesson 2 (pages 86-87) More than 800 warriors were killed. Chief Menewa was badly wounded and somehow managed to escape. American losses were very light. The Battle of Horseshoe Bend was the last battle of the Creek War.
Lesson 2 (page 88) William Weatherford or Red Eagle was a leader of the Red Sticks. He tried to stop the massacre at Fort Mims but his followers would not listen to him so he left. After the battle at Horseshoe Bend some Indians who survived began to suffer from hunger and exposure. To save his people, he surrendered to General Andrew Jackson.
Lesson 2 (page 89) Andrew Jackson s victory over the Creeks and the battle of Horseshow Bend made Jackson an American Hero. He and his wife raised a baby they found at the Battle of Tallaseehatchee. He later became president of the United States.
Lesson 2 (page 90) After the war, Alabama Indians ceded more land to the United States. The Indian way of life had changed; there was less deer trading because white traders were not honest in their dealings. When Andrew Jackson was president of the U.S. tribal Indians were removed from their lands in Alabama. They were forced to move to Oklahoma Territory to live on reservations. Their march away from their Alabama land and homes is called the Trail of Tears.
Lesson 3 (page 92) The defeat of the Indians in 1814 encouraged more settlers to move into Alabama. The desire to move to Alabama was called Alabama Fever. Most of the people coming to Alabama came from the south.
Lesson 3 (pages 92-93) Whole communities and family groups often moved to Alabama together. Pioneers liked to settle in areas near people they knew. Pioneers needed good land to grow crops, and river bottoms were flat and fertile. The river would allow them to ship their farm products to market. If they were not on the river, they selected homesteads with a spring.
Pioneer Life
Lesson 3 (page 94) Many Creeks operated stagecoach inns, or stands, along the Federal Road. They made money by providing places for travelers to sleep and eat. Thomas Hamilton traveled down the Federal Road in 1831 and said the road was the very worst I have ever traveled in the whole course of my travels. The ruts were axle-deep, and huge crevices occasionally occurred, in which, but for great strategy on the part of the coachman, the vehicle must have been engulfed.
Lesson 3 (page 95) Settlers either purchased their land or simply lived on it, not bothering with a legal title. Government surveyors had to survey and plot the land into townships and sections before it could be sold. Pioneers who settled on frontier land the did not own were called squatters. They were often poor people who did not have enough cash to spend on land.
Lesson 3 (page 96) In 1817 an unusual group of settlers arrived at the white bluffs on the Tombigbee River. The settlers were Frenchmen who had supported Napoleon I. When Napoleon was defeated and no longer emperor, he was banished, or sent out of the country to live. Some of his supporters came to America.
Lesson 3 (page 97) The French planted grape vines and olive trees, but they were NOT farmers. Grapes and olive trees did not grow well in the Canebrake, so after 15 years of trying the French families gave up. They went down the river to Mobile or to New Orleans, where city life was more comfortable for them.
Lesson 3 (page 98) The large number of people moving into Alabama increased the population. Soon the Alabama portion of the Mississippi Territory would have more people than the Mississippi area. So the territory was divided. In 1817 Mississippi became a state, and Alabama became a territory. Alabama was only a territory for 2 years. In 1819 Alabama petitioned Congress for statehood.
Mississippi Statehood/Alabama Territory
Lesson 3 (pages 99-100) Before Alabama could become a state they had to write a constitution. What is a constitution? Finally, on December 14, 1819 Alabama became a state.
Alabama became a state 1819
TIMELOG 101 What year did the American Revolution begin? What year did the U.S. win its independence? How many years was it from the beginning of the American Revolution to the U.S. finally getting its independence?