why u.s. senator blount was impeached

8/10/2019 Why U.S. Senator Blount Was Impeached

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WHY U.S. SENATOR BLOUNT WAS IMPEACHED



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Notes from diverse sources

by David Arthur Walters

"For William Blount, especially, a new era had opened. Though hisinterests in merchandising, trade, and politics continued, the never- ceasing pursuit of acreage, and the search for profit in every acre fromtown lots to imperial domains became his paramount, life-long interest."William H. Masterson A

THE NATION’S FIRST ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT

Although Vice President Thomas Jefferson, who presided over the Senate during thefledgling nation’ s first impeachment trial, that of Tennessee Senator William Blount,wrote in a personal letter that the senator has done nothing wrong, and concluded thatimpeachment was a political farce, Blount had scant support during his expulsion andimpeach proceedings other than from his attorneys and his protégé, U.S.Representative Andrew Jackson, who would take Blount's senate seat. No one in theadministration or Congress would have much to do with him. Federalists andRepublicans alike distanced themselves, denounced him, and sought to punish him.

The impeachment was brought by the House after a proceeding of merely five days:

Articles exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States, inthe name of themselves and of all the people of the United States, againstWilliam Blount, in maintenance of their impeachment against him for highcrimes and misdemeanors.

ARTICLE 1. That, whereas the United States, in the months of February,March, April, May, and June, in the year of our Lord one thousand sevenhundred and ninety-seven, and for many years then past, were at peacewith his Catholic Majesty, the King of Spain; and whereas, during themonths aforesaid, His said Catholic Majesty and the King of Britain were

at war with each other; yet the said William Blount, on or about themonths aforesaid, then being a Senator of the United States, and wellknowing the premises, but disregarding the duties and obligations of hishigh station, and designing and intending to disturb the peace andtranquility of the United States, and to violate and infringe the neutralitythereof, did conspire, and contrive to create, promote and set on foot,within the jurisdiction and territory of the United States, and to conduct



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and carry on from thence, a military hostile expedition against theterritories and dominions of His said Catholic Majesty in the Floridas andLouisiana, or a part thereof, for the purpose of wresting the same fromHis Catholic Majesty, and of conquering the same for the King of GreatBritain, with whom His said Catholic Majesty was then at war as aforesaid,

contrary to the duty of his trust and station as a Senator of the UnitedStates, in violation of the obligations of neutrality, and against the laws ofthe United States, and the peace and interests thereof.

ARTICLE 2. That, whereas, on the twenty-seventh day of October, in theyear of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, a Treaty ofFriendship and Navigation, had been made and concluded between theUnited States and His Catholic Majesty, by the fifth article whereof it isstipulated and agreed, "that the two high contracting parties shall, by allmeans in their power, maintain peace and harmony among the severalIndian nations who inhabit the country adjacent to the lines and rivers,which, by the proceeding articles, form the boundaries of the twoFloridas: And the better to obtain this effect, both parties obligethemselves expressly to restrain by force all hostilities on the part of theIndian nations living within their boundary; so that Spain will not sufferher Indians to attack the citizens of the United States, nor the Indiansinhabiting their territory; nor will the United States permit these lastmentioned Indians to commence hostilities against the subjects of HisCatholic Majesty or his Indians, in any manner whatever." Yet, the saidWilliam Blount, on or about the months of February, March, April, May,and June, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and

ninety-seven, then being a Senator of the United States, and well knowingthe premises, and that the United States were then at peace with His saidCatholic Majesty, and that His Catholic Majesty was at war with the Kingof Great Britain, but disregarding the duties of his obligations of neutrality,did conspire and contrive to excite the Creek and Cherokee nations ofIndians, then inhabiting within the territorial boundary of the UnitedStates, to commence hostilities against the subjects and possessions ofHis Catholic Majesty, in the Floridas and Louisiana, for the purpose ofreducing the same to the dominion of the King of Great Britain, withwhom His Catholic Majesty was then at war as aforesaid: contrary to theduty of his trust and station as a Senator of the United States, in violation

of the said Treaty of Friendship, Limits and Navigation, and of theobligations of neutrality, and against the laws of the United States, andthe peace and interests thereof.

ARTICLE 3. That, whereas, by the ordinances and acts of Congress forregulating trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes, and for preservingpeace on the frontiers, it has been made lawful for the President of the



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United States, in order to secure the continuance of the friendship of thesaid Indian tribes, to appoint such persons, from time to time, astemporary agents, to reside among the Indians, as he shall think fit; and,whereas, in pursuance of the said authority, the President of the UnitedStates, on or about the eighth day of September, in the years of our Lord

one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, did appoint BenjaminHawkins, to be principal temporary agent for Indian affairs, within theIndian nations south of the river Ohio, and north of the territorial line ofthe United States; and whereas the said Benjamin Hawkins accepted thesaid appointment, and on the 21st day of April, in the year of our Lordone thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven, and for a long time beforeand afterwards, did exercise the functions, powers and duties attached tothe same; yet, the same Wm. Blount, on or about the said twenty-firstday of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred andninety-seven, then being a Senator of the United States, and well knowingthe premises, did, in the prosecution of criminal designs and of theconspiracies aforesaid, and the more effectually to accomplish hisintention of exciting the Creek and Cherokee nations of Indians tocommence hostilities against the subjects of His Catholic Majesty, furtherconspire and contrive to alienate and divert the confidence of the saidIndian tribes or nations from the said Benjamin Hawkins, the principaltemporary agent aforesaid, and to diminish, impair, and destroy theinfluence of the said Benjamin Hawkins with the said Indian tribes, andtheir friendly intercourse and understanding with him, contrary to the dutyof the trust and station as a Senator of the United States and against theordinances and laws of the United States, and the peace and interests

thereof.

ARTICLE 4. That, whereas, by the ordinances and acts of Congressaforesaid, it is made lawful for the President of the United States toestablish trading houses at such places and posts on the western andsouthwestern frontiers, or in the Indian country, as he shall judge mostconvenient, for the purpose of carrying on a liberal trade with the severalIndian nations within the limits of the United States, and to appoint anagent at each trading house established as aforesaid, with such clerks andassistants as may be necessary for the execution of said acts: And,whereas, by a treaty, made and concluded on the second day of July, in

the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one,between the United States and the Cherokee nation of Indians, inhabitingwithin the limits of the United States, it is stipulated and agreed, that "theUnited States will send such, and so many persons to reside in saidnation, as they may judge proper, not exceeding four, who shall qualifythemselves to act as interpreters." And whereas the President of theUnited States, as well in pursuance of the authorities in this article



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mentioned, as of the acts of Congress referred to in the third article, didappoint James Carey to be interpreter for the United States to the saidCherokee nation of Indians, and assistant at the public trading houseestablished at the Tellico blockhouse, in the State of Tennessee: Andwhereas the said James Carey did accept the said appointments, and on

the twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand sevenhundred and ninety-seven, and for a long time before and afterwards, didexercise the functions, and duties attached to the same; yet the saidWilliam Blount, on or about the twenty-first day of April, in the year lastaforesaid, then being a Senator of the United States, and well knowingthe premises, did, in prosecution of his criminal designs, and infurtherance of the conspiracies aforesaid, conspire and contrive to seducethe said James Carey from the duty and trust of said appointments, andto engage the said James Carey to assist in the promotion and executionof the said criminal intentions and conspiracies aforesaid, contrary to theduty of his trust and station as a Senator of the United States, and againstthe laws and treaties of the United States, and the peace and intereststhereof.

ARTICLE 5. That whereas certain tribes or nations of Indians inhabitwithin the territorial limits of the United States, between whom, or manyof them, and the settlements of the United States, certain boundary lineshave, by successive treaties, been stipulated and agreed upon, toseparate the lands and possessions of the said Indians from the lands andpossessions of the United States, and the citizens thereof: And whereas,particularly, by the treaty in the last article mentioned to have been made

with the Cherokee nation, on the second day of July, in the year of ourLord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, the boundary betweenthe United States and the said Cherokee nation was agreed and defined;and it was further stipulated, that the same should be ascertained andmarked plainly by three persons appointed on the part of the UnitedStates, and three Cherokees on the part of their nation: Aner whereas, byanother treaty made with the said Cherokee nation, on the twenty-sixthday of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred andninety-four, the said hereinbefore recited treaty, of the second day ofJuly, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one,was confirmed and established; and it was mutually agreed that the said

boundary line should be actually ascertained and marked in the mannerprescribed by the said last mentioned treaty: And whereas, in pursuanceof said treaties, commissioners were duly nominated and appointed, onthe part of the United States, to ascertain and mark the said boundaryline; yet, the said William Blount, on or about the twenty-first day of April,in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven,then being a Senator of the United States, and well knowing the premises,



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in further prosecution of his said criminal designs, and of the conspiraciesaforesaid, and the more effectually to accomplish his intention of excitingthe Indians to commence hostilities against the subjects of His CatholicMajesty, did further conspire and contrive to diminish and impair theconfidence of the said Cherokee nation in the Government of the United

States, and to create and foment discontents and disaffection among thesaid Indians towards the Government of the United States, in relation tothe ascertainment and marking of the boundary line, contrary to the dutyof his trust and station as a Senator of the United States, and against thepeace and interests thereof.

And the House of Representatives, by protestation, saving to themselvesthe liberty of exhibiting at any time hereafter, any further articles, or otheraccusation, or impeachment, against the said William Blount, and also ofreplying to his answers, which he shall make unto the said articles, or anyof them, and of offering proof to all and every aforesaid articles, and to alland every other articles of impeachment, or accusation, which shall beexhibited by them, as the case shall require, do demand that the saidWilliam Blount may be put to answer the said crimes and misdemeanors,and that such proceedings, examination, trials, and judgments, maythereupon had and given, as are agreeable to law and justice.

Signed by order and behalf of the House.

JONATHAN DAYTON, Speaker

Attest, JONATHAN W. CONDY, Clerk

The main evidence against Blount was a single letter he had written to Indianinterpreter James Carey. The representatives of both parties made haste to condemnhim because they believed their young nation was presently endangered by a ominousconspiracy, dubbed by historians the Chisholm-Romayne Scheme, after John Chisholmand Nicholas Romayne.

THE CHISHOLM-ROMAYNE SCHEME

John Chisholm was a Spanish-hating ex-British soldier who had suffered imprisonment

at the hands of the Spanish at Pensacola. He soon became a Knoxville tavern owner, afree lance Indian agent, and a soldier of fortune in want of U.S. citizenship; hiscitizenship petition for himself and his Loyalist friends was greeted coldly by Secretaryof State McHenry and turned down. Chisholm served Blount as handyman and Indianagent while Blount was the wheeling and dealing governor of the territory south of theOhio. Blount's main concerns as real estate speculator and governor were his land dealsand Indian affairs.



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Chisholm the mercenary was not about to wait for American and British statesmen toform an alliance against Spain to make his fortune; the Federalists loved England butthey did not want to entangle the United States in a war with Spain, Britain’s enemy. Rumors were afloat out West that Spain would soon return New Orleans and theterritory west of the Mississippi to France, which France had given to Spain in 1763.

France itself was not bound by the U.S. Treaty of Friendship and Navigation with Spainto curb hostilities by the Indians against either party during Spain’s war with Britain . Itwas feared that Napoleon would then close the Mississippi river to the Americans;therefore New Orleans would be better off in British hands, because the 1783 U.S.treaty with Britain guaranteed free navigation of the Mississippi.

Chisholm conceived a scheme for an assault on East Florida, and proceeded to promoteit with almost anyone who cared to listen, including the Indian interpreter James Carey,his old Loyalist friends and others on the frontier, and with British minister John Liston.In fine: Chisholm and his ex-Loyalist friends would enlist Indian allies and lead theattack on Spanish Florida; the British would supply provisions and a privateer.

Blount loved Chisholm's scheme for what it was worth. He called the Chisholm part ofthe so-called Chisholm-Romayne scheme a "petty enterprise" because the big Spanishplum, which he had relished in conference with his real-estate speculating partner upNorth, Dr. Nicholas Romayne, was not Spanish Florida; Spanish Louisiana was the bigprize. Now the American real-estate bubble had burst: prices were tumbling; paper wasbeing presented; debtor's prison loomed.

Dr. Romayne went to England and tried to dump some of the vast Western tracts onBritish investors; he reported back to Blount that the Western land was considered

worthless in England for fear, of course, that Spain, to establish a firm barrier for herpossessions further south, would cede Louisiana to France. The doctor's enthusiasm forthe conspiracy to set things right would eventually wane, and he would pen a letter toBlount renouncing the plan because of France's successes in the war and the relatedgrowth of England's financial burdens.

The details of the Chisholm-Romayne plan were never worked out. Generally, theBritish would cooperate in a three-pronged attack on the Northwest (via Canada) andon Pensacola and New Orleans.

Blount discussed Chisholm's plan with Dr. Romayne. The doctor did not like Chisholm's

involvement because the mercenary was too disreputable for his taste. And Chisholmwas no fool: he realized that he might be shoved aside by Dr. Romayne, so he was notvery cooperative once he knew of his involvement. In fact, he sounded out Aaron Burr.

Aaron Burr might have participated in the Blount conspiracy. Burr and Blount werefriends, and Blount had been seen dining with one James Wilkerson, who was at the



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heart of the later Burr scheme and who had taken part in a yet earlier plot, an alternateto Genet's plot.

GENET AND THE SPANISH PLUMS – LOUISIANA AND THE FLORIDAS

Edmund Charles Genet arrived at Charleston in 1793. The French diplomat's officialmission was to obtain cash or credit to purchase supplies under the auspices of the1778 Franco-U.S. alliance. He secretly wanted to give the United States due cause tomake war on England, Spain’s ally, wherefore he conspired to arm privateers andprivate armies to emancipate Spanish America and open up the Mississippi forKentuckians. To that purpose one George Clark enrolled in the plot: he was to lead

American frontiersman down from the backwoods and seize New Orleans with theassistance of the French fleet.

The United States of America was in a ticklish situation when Genet arrived. Two greatpowers, France and Britain, shared North America with the United States. Spain and

France were at odds with Britain. Spain, with whom the United States also had a treaty,although weaker than France and Britain, and therefore motivated to ally itself witheither one or the other, was not a power to be mocked or attacked by Americanbackwoodsmen and their Native American allies. Furthermore, such an offense mightrub one of the greater powers the wrong way, and draw the United States into war.

President Washington and his virtual prime minister, Alexander Hamilton, bothFederalists, distrusted French Ambassador Genet when he arrived in '93. They did notwant to alienate England; her culture and trade was greatly appreciated. Furthermore,they feared not only the excesses of the French Revolution but its republican features

as well, particularly the democratic principle of equality, which they perceived as athreat to the nation's institution of slavery.

On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson, son of the French Enlightenment and Republicanleader of revolutionary French principles within the American Revolution, smiled onGenet for awhile, for Jefferson's vision of the Liberal Land was far greater than thosewho calculated that the U.S. already had quite enough territory to chew and digest. Infine, Jefferson coveted Spanish-American property, presumably with only the publicinterest in mind - he may have participated in a private conspiracy or two himself.

Genet's designs were exposed to President Washington; he, in turn, demanded Genet's

recall. Incidentally, there was no chance that Genet's plot would be executed: therewas no army of backwoodsmen, nor was there a French fleet to back them up. Franceagreed to recall Genet; since he did not want to lose his head in France, he managed toremain in the States, where he married George Clinton's daughter.

Congress enacted the Neutrality Act of 1794, drafted to prohibit persons within the jurisdiction of the United States from outfitting private ships and armies for the purpose



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of attacking states with whom the United States was as peace. Spain at the timepossessed the political and commercial plums badly wanted by pioneers, real estatespeculators, and politicians: Florida and Louisiana - the biggest prize, New Orleans,would open up the Mississippi for navigation. The Neutrality Act was intended as atemporary measure to discourage private parties from grabbing the Spanish plums

without official sanction, The Act was approved by Congress on June 5, 1794, to beeffective for a period of two years, and from thence to the end of the next Congress. Itwas continued by act of Congress in 1800. The Act was designed to prevent offensesagainst neutrality, especially on the high seas. Any aggrieved party whatsoever couldfile a complaint with a U.S. District Court. Section Five of the Act prohibited privateparties on land from actually advancing hostilities against a neutral state:

"Sec. 5. And be it further enacted and declared, That if any person shallwithin the territory or jurisdiction of the United States begin or set on footor provide or prepare the means for any military expedition or enterpriseto be carried on from thence against the territory or dominions of anyforeign prince or state with whom the United States are at peace, everysuch person so offending shall upon conviction be adjudged guilty of ahigh misdemeanor and shall suffer fine and imprisonment at the discretionof the court in which the conviction shall be had so as that such fine shallnot exceed three thousand dollars nor the term of imprisonment be morethan three years." (Third Congress, Session I, Chapter 51)

The Neutrality Act survives in current federal statutes. It provides that the President canemploy armed forces to intervene where violations occur; for instance, he can seizevessels outfitted to make war on parties at peace with the United States. Complaints

may be filed by any aggrieved party in the district court. A similar phrase, "... anymilitary expedition or enterprise is begun or set foot..." can be found in the UnitedStates Code 22, S. 461. The penalty for violation is presently a fine of $10,000, or twoyears imprisonment, or both. The statute was invoked in the matter of the Iran-Contraaffair of the 1980s, in an action brought by private parties for redress of injuriessustained as a result of the administration's Nicaragua policy, and for the prosecution ofthe officials involved.

Although the Genet conspiracy really did not amount to much, it fired the imaginationsof people on the frontiers, inspiring William Blount's revival of the scheme, not tomention that of Aaron Burr.

Burr’s co-conspirator, James Wilkerson would have allied himself with Spain if pushcame to shove. Incidentally, Jefferson had also been seen with the "wrong" people;

Abigail Adams wished the guillotine were applied to the likes of Jefferson and Blount.

It was a small world, after all. The Anglo-Saxon-Americans had much in common, andthey wanted much more; to wit, access to the Gulf, Florida, Louisiana, and so on. The



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Anglo-Celt-Americans hated not only the Spanish and Native Americans but the Englishas well. The visionary Thomas Jefferson coveted the Mississippi and beyond. Hepardoned Wilkerson for the earlier, far more treasonable plot than Blount's or Burr's,yet he persecuted Burr for a similar yet lesser plot than Blount's although he made hisfamous remark in a personal letter that Blount had done nothing wrong.

British Minister Liston was intrigued by the scheming since Britain had beencontemplating an attack on Spain in America. When the conspiracy came to light, headmitted that he had spoken to someone about some sort of scheme, but he deniedthat he was keen on it. He had been interested enough in Chisholm's proposal,however, to provide him with passage to England: Chisholm's efforts there were fornaught; he was turned down flat; thereafter a deluded Brit accused him of plotting withSpain.

THE REAL ESTATE CRASH

Blount had good reason to be anti-Federalist given the arrogant treatment he hadsuffered at Federalist hands when he tried to take a seat in the U.S. Senate for the newstate of Tennessee. Moreover, Blount was favorably disposed toward some of therepublican notions of the French Revolution while the Federalists were enamored ofEnglish traditions; wherefore Blount's political affiliation with Jefferson's Republican(Democratic) party.

Blount, in his former capacity as Governor of the Southern District, was too beholden tothe Federalists who had appointed him hence he led a crusade to bring statehood toTennessee in order to save himself and like-minded Tennesseans from Federalist

domination. The regional demands for statehood after the Revolution, which if metwould provide independence from the federal government, alarmed the Federalists -too many states would rock the Federalist boat and water down its stock.

After Blount achieved statehood for Tennessee and took his Senate seat, he waspolitically a Republican (i.e. democrat) through and through. As for business, businessis business, and sometimes the good of private business conflicts with publicly heldpolitical persuasions. Senator Blount the real estate speculator was facing financial ruin.That alone gave him due cause to side with the British where his own business wasconcerned. On the other hand, he faithfully sided with the French in the political arena.

Blount and his fellow speculative patriots had their eyes on the Spanish plums i.e.Florida and Louisiana. His Majesty of Spain had allied himself with France againstEngland. The American speculators feared that Spain would concede the plums theysorely wanted to France in return for protection; that would spell disaster for thefinancial plans of Blount et al.



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The most convenient solution: make a deal privately with England to grab the plumsfrom Spain. The scheme: American settlers could get together with some Indian allies;backed up by British privateers, they would occupy the coveted lands. Such an alliancewith the British would be in accord with the Anglo-American proclivities of most of theSoutherners involved. Not that any affection for the British would preclude an alliance

with Spain if it were convenient. Blount, Andrew Jackson, and John Sevier amongothers had already participated in or condoned a flirtation with the Spanish governor ofLouisiana, Esteban Miro, in a previous scheme (the Daniel Smith affair) that would haveseparated the District of Mero - prime real estate in the middle of the Cumberlandregion- from North Carolina and handed it over to Spanish Louisiana, that "the West beone people." But that deal had fallen through; this was now, and the speculators werein an awful fix now that values were plummeting and notes were being called in. So tohell with Spain.

Blount was on the hook for a million acres in 1796. He was involved in his brother JohnGray Blount's deals for another million and six hundred thousand acres. Prices in 1795were around a quarter per acre for large tracts of two or more million acres. Warensued between Britain and Spain in October of 1796 - Spain was probably about tohand Florida and Louisiana over to France. In Tennessee, it appeared that theFederalists would draw the Holston line fairly - as the Cherokees had expected to beginwith. Land values out West dropped to a dime an acre when credit collapsed. Thedominoes tumbled one after another. Andrew Jackson was deeply indebted. David

Allison, a wealthy easterner whose I.O.U. was once as good as gold, and who was oneof Blount's partners in Indian land deals, wound up in debtor's prison. Senator Blountwas virtually bankrupt; fortunately, his senatorial immunity saved him from debtor'sprison.

Surely something must be done or all would be lost as far as the troubled real estatespeculators were concerned. Help from the federal government would not beforthcoming if asked for: the Federalists were behaving diplomatically, hoping that thefledgling United States would not be strangled in its crib by foreign entanglements. The"incriminating" Carey letter in Senator Blount's own handwriting came to light, and thequestion as to whether or not his conduct rose to a high crime or misdemeanor forwhich impeachment arose and was quickly answered in the affirmative.

THE CAREY LETTER

The famous letter damning Blount to expulsion from the Senate and impeachment waspenned by him on April 21, 1797, and addressed to Carey at the Tellico station inTennessee, enlisted his participation in a conspiracy against Spain and certain Indians,the execution of which would be enormously profitable to himself and other real estatespeculators in Indian lands, not to mention ordinary pro-American squatters on Indianlands south of the Ohio river and pro-American settlers in Florida and Louisiana. Blountwarned Carey against the discovery of the plot by pro-Federalist officials on the scene,



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particularly Mr. Dinsmoor, an interpreter; Mr. Byers, the storekeeper; and BenjaminHawkins, the Indian superintendent.

Unfortunately for Senator Blount, Carey showed the letter to James Byers, thegovernment factor at Tellico; Byers took the letter to Blount's mortal enemy, David

Henley; he in turn expressed it to Secretary of War James McHenry and Secretary ofState Timothy Pickering in Philadelphia. Of course Pickering turned the letter over toPresident Adams, who approved its disclosure to Congress. The incriminating letter wasthe main evidence which led to the quick expulsion and impeachment of SenatorBlount.

Col. King's Iron Works,

April 21, 1797

Dear Carey:

I wished to have seen you before I returned to Philadelphia, but I amobliged to return to the session of Congress which commences on the15th of May.

Among other things that I wished to have seen you about was thebusiness Captain Chisholm mentioned to the British Minister last winter atPhiladelphia.

I believe, but am not sure, that the plan then talked of [at a conference

between Blount henchman John Chisholm and British minister JohnListon] will be attempted this fall, and if it is attempted, it will be in amuch larger way than then talked of, and if the Indians act their part, Ihave no doubt but it will succeed. A man of consequence [Dr. NicholasRomayne] has gone to England about the business; and if he makesarrangements as he expects, I shall myself have a hand in the business;and probably shall be at the head of the business on the part of theBritish.

You are, however, to understand that it is not yet quite certain that theplan will be attempted, and to do so will require all your management. I

say will require all your management, because you must take care inwhatever you say to Rogers or anybody else, not to let the plan bediscovered by Hawkins, Dinsmoor, Byers or any other person in theinterest of the United States of Spain.

If I attempt this plan, I shall expect to have you and all of my Indianfriends with me, but you are now in good business, I hope, and you arenot to risk the loss of it by saying anything that will hurt you until you



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again hear from me. Where Captain Chisholm is I do not know. I lefthome in Philadelphia in March, and he frequently visited the Minister andspoke about the subject; but I believe he will go again into the Creeknation by way of South Carolina or Georgia. He gave out that he wasgoing to England, but I do not believe him. Among things that you may

safely do, will be to keep up my consequence with Watts and the Creeksand the Cherokees generally; and you must, by no means, say anything infavor of Hawkins, but, as often as you can with safety to yourself, youmay teach the Creeks to believe he is no better than he should be. Anypower or consequence he gets will be against our plan. Perhaps Rogers,who has no office to lose, is the best man to give out talks againstHawkins. Read the letter to Rogers, and if you think best to send it, put awafer in it and forward it to him by a safe hand; or perhaps, you had bestsend for him to come to you, and to speak to him yourself respecting thestate and prospect of things.

I have advised you, in whatever you do, to take care of yourself. I havenow to tell you to take care of me too, for a discovery of the plan wouldprevent the success, and much injure all parties concerned. It may be thatthe Commissioners may not run the line as the Indians expect of wish,and in that case, it is probable the Indians may be taught to blame me formaking the Treaty.

To such complaints against me, if such there are, it may be said by myfriends, at proper times and places, that Doublehead confirmed the treatywith the President at Philadelphia, and received as much as five thousand

dollars a year to be paid to the Nation over and above the first price;indeed it may with truth be said that I was by the President instructed topurchase much more land than the Indians would agree to sell. This sortof talk will be throwing all the blame off me upon the late President, andas he is now out of office, it will be of no consequence how much theIndians blame him. And among other things, that may be said for me is,that I was not at the running of the line, and that if I had been, it wouldhave been more to their satisfaction. In short, you understand thesubject, and must take care to give out the proper talks to keep up withmy consequence with the Creeks and Cherokees. Can't Rogers contrive toget the Creeks to desire the President to take Hawkins out of the nation?

for, if he stays in the Creek nation, and gets the good will of the nation,he can and will do great injury to our plan.

When you have read this letter over three times, then burn it. I shall be atKnoxville in July or August, when I will send for Watts and give him thewhiskey I promised him.



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I am, &c.,

WM. BLOUNT B

The writing of such a letter might not have constituted an indictable offense in itself; it

takes more than one person to conspire, and there was no concrete evidence thatanyone else was actually involved; the conspiracy countenanced, even if wereexecuted, might not have been a crime under current law, let alone a high crime ormisdemeanor suitable for impeachment.

All that was beside the point at the time; the nonpartisan point was obvious: SenatorBlount was privately scheming, apparently for his personal profit, to engage in activitiesthat might embarrass the nation and provoke a bloody war with a world power.

Many of the persons charged with judging Blount's conduct had themselves framed theConstitution, hence they were quite familiar with "the intent of the framers." Blount

appeared to be guilty as sin, of malfeasance in office, an unethical infraction that couldwell be called a high misdemeanor, i.e. a high “misdeed” if not a felony by law . Sincehis perceived misconduct seemed to pose an immediate threat to the nation, thecongressmen did not proceed to quibble over the definition of "officers" in theimpeachment clause, “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the UnitedStates, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason,Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.” C They set about employing theirpowers to expel Blount from the Senate, to uncover and defeat the conspiracy, and tomake sure Blount did not return to office; wherefore the nation’s first impeachmentproceeding would be against a senator, a proceeding that would be deemed

inappropriate in respect to their “office.”

An argument presented against the impeachment of Senator Blount for high crimes andmisdemeanors was that the House impeachment (political indictment) had beenbrought solely on the basis of Blount's letter to interpreter James Carey, a letter herisked writing because he had been called to a special session of Congress and couldnot communicate his wishes directly. As we have seen, Blount made references thereinto participants in schemes broader than the customary cheating of Indians out of theirland, this time at Holston; namely, the Chisholm-Romayne scheme to seize the Spanishplums. Blount's defenders argued that there cannot be a conspiracy without co-conspirators capable of carrying it out; in this case, the British, who purportedly did not

actually conspire to carry out the attacks proposed. The Federalists were in factembarrassed by the probability, no matter how slim it might be, of British involvement,for that would implicate the Federalists if not the opposing Republican fraction.Therefore President Adams was advised to keep the whole thing quiet; but he darednot do so lest the cover up become uncovered and his party defamed by theconclusions which might then be drawn about what went on under the sheets.



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The Carey letter was not the only evidence brought to light during the impeachmentproceedings. The Carey letter was sufficient evidence for a quick impeachment. At thattime there was no pressing need to wrangle over whether or not the British wereactually conspiring with Blount et al. The Congressmen on all sides were rightlyconcerned for the future of the United States, which seemed to be presently

endangered by the misconduct of one of its senators - whether that misconduct wasindictable as a criminal offense was not relevant at the moment.

As a matter of fact, only one Article of Impeachment against Senator Blount referred toa criminal offense: a possible violation of the Neutrality Act. However, the statuteprovided that an actual act (actus reus) of beginning or setting on foot or preparingmeans for attacking a neutral state would be necessary for the statute to be applicable.

A mere conspiracy would fall short. Whether conspiracy to violate neutrality was acriminal act under common law was problematic, especially in view of the fact that theRepublican faction preferred their criminal laws to be in writing and that strictlyconstrued.

On or about July 8, 1797, a few days after President Adams had Senator Blount'sincriminating letter to James Carey delivered to the Senate, a district court action wasbrought against the senator for a "misdemeanor," disturbing the peace and tranquilityof the United States, and violating the Neutrality Act. District Judge Peters issued awarrant for Blount's arrest. A marshal was sent to Philadelphia, where he found thesenator in the midst of expulsion proceedings and facing impeachment. Blount, whohad tried to flee Philadelphia before, on a boat, was expelled by the Senate: his bailwas reduced for the pending impeachment. Blount skipped bail and fled to Tennesseeon horseback, where he was boomed for re-election; somehow he had also managed to

slip away from the marshal sent to return him to the district court to face themisdemeanor charges. The Eastern public was outraged by the bail-reduction andsubsequent escape. Pickering sent along Judge Peter's warrant and relevant papers tothe U.S. attorney at Staunton, Virginia, where Blount had been sighted, warning himthat, although the charge was a misdemeanor, it was "of the most dangerous and fataltendency." It must have been, then, a "high" misdemeanor, such as actually specified inthe Neutrality Act.

Senator Blount had been expelled, but he might be elected again given the fact that hewas extremely popular in Tennessee. Conviction at an impeachment trial woulddisqualify him from office; however, even that was not the chief concern at the time: an

investigation must be conducted at once to address what was perceived as a clear andpresent danger to the United States; and the impeachment committee, the Housemanagers, and the senators serving as inquisitors, judges and jurors for the highestcourt in the land - in cases of impeachment - did just that. When they realized therereally was no threat, the impeachment trial was put on the back burner for the politicalsquabbling that would set precedents for future impeachments. Many of those involvedin the debates certainly knew what "the framers intended," for they had participated in



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the framing. William Blount, incidentally, was one of the signers of the United StatesConstitution.

THE WHEELER-DEALER

The impeachment was not the first time Blount had been accused of malfeasance inoffice, nor was the Carey letter sole cause for congressmen to fear so much for theirnation's safety. They knew the author of the letter quite well. He was a powerful andclever man. He had cut his teeth on the mercantile business of his father in NorthCarolina. He served the nation as a merchant-soldier during the Revolution. His publicduties as paymaster, which gave him immediate access to crucial information and vitalcommercial facilities, dovetailed with his private pursuits.

The wartime economy was an unusual opportunity for shrewd, well-placed speculators:races and creeds were clashing; mobs pillaging; Tories and Whigs were making savageraids; inflation soaring over floods of depreciated paper; finished goods were in short

supply. As paymaster Blount, with official access to goods and warehouses, procuredand disposed of supplies; issued warrants to pay the soldiers; speculated on paper andreal estate; mastered currency trading and the like. He profited from his salary, privatetrading in goods and currencies, paying off Loyalist debts with depreciated currency,and so on. In the Camden disaster of August 16, 1780, he lost $300,000 of the payroll.His business methods were not greatly appreciated by persons who got the short end ofthe stick. Thomas Hart's facetious letter to him on January 25, 1780, is a bitterly madecase on point:

"I have (Once more) Sendt a waggon and two Hhds tobe your place, and

what will you send me in Return, I Suppose as half Bushl Salt, or Galls ofRum for a 100wt Tobe, Something like this, I make no doubt, - What aSett of Atheistical fellows must there be in Newbern that thinks there isNeither God nor Devil to punish them in a Nother World, for their usury tous in this, I must send down Debow Once more to preach up the Doctrineof Regeneration or the New Birth to you, for If there ever was a Sett ofmen on the face of this Globe, who stood more in need of beingRegenerated, and Born anew, I wonder trully how many poor Sons ofBitches with tears in their Eyes have I Seen with these Six weeks past,Coming from your place. Some with 5 or 6 Bushls Salt in their waggons,Some [with?] 8 or 10 Galls of Rum, and others with Cargoes [or less?]

Value, all declaring themselves Broken [miserably] but None of themwithout a Good Store of [curses which] they bestow (with a very Liberalhand) on the Good folks of Newbern... can you expect to thrive Under theHeavy Curses of the Rightious folks of this Country, had Not you better tryto do Something that may entitle you to Our Blessing. Instead of OurCurses, come do (for Godsake) begin with me, and let us See what youcan do...."



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Blount entered politics in 1780 at age 31, after the war, and became New Bern'srepresentative to North Carolina's House of Commons. As one of several self-interestedspeculator-legislators, he devised and pushed through legislation to grant certain'unclaimed' Tennessee land over the mountains to North Carolina veterans. The soldiersneeded immediate money more than the distant land. Blount and his fellow speculator-

legislators were kind enough to buy the land from them, with the issue new money theyhad legislated for that purpose. This was called the Land Grab of '83. Blount sponsoredlegislation to have the Western land ceded to the federal government, hoping thatwould serve to secure the grants; the cession did not take place until 1790. Yet at thesame time Blount was involved in an effort to grab a big chunk of the prime real estateof East Tennessee and have it recognized as the State of Franklin; Benjamin Franklingave it his blessing but declined the invitation to move there, due to reasons ofadvanced age.

Blount was re-elected to the North Carolina legislature in 1784. He briefly served in theContinental Congress in 1785, and then returned to North Carolina. In1790. PresidentWashington appointed him Governor of and Superintendent of Indian Affairs of theTerritory of the United States South of the Ohio. The appointment gave him ampleopportunity to deal in vast tracts of land, including, of course, tracts rightfully belongingto the Indians. Access was of course wanted to the Gulf of Mexico; the Bend, the greatsouthern bend of the Tennessee River and on by river and land from there appeared tobe a viable alternate to the New Orleans route. Naturally it would be necessary to raisethe specter of possible Spanish attacks and the possibility of enormous profits; aMennonite company already wanted to buy some land in the Bend. One must deal withSouth Carolina, and then buy off the Georgia legislature to get access. A commissionwas set up to manage the land; the commission also had the power to grant warrants

on the land. Some of the official land commissioners were, quite naturally, alsomembers of the private Bend of Tennessee Company.

Blount was the wheeling-dealing mastermind.

On May 31, 1784, he sent an excerpt from a Mennonite community's offer to purchaseBend lands to his partners, North Carolina land commissioners John Donelson, JosephMartin, and John Sevier, along with his letter stating that the North Carolina cession oflands to Congress would boost the value of the land. He further advised them asfollows:

".... If you should think proper to open the .... [land office] to grantWarrants at 1/8 of a dollar per Acre enter as much as you can and makeuse of any Names fictitious ones will do I suppose, If not you may use theNames of Blount, WIlliam Johnson Allen, Winnan, Ogden and almost anyother Name you please ading such Christian Names to them as You pleaseand You need not fear but I can find the People to transfer their Rights tothe Company.... May it not be good Policy [to] set some new Scheme on



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foot in Partnership with the Gentlemen of Georgia to make futherPurchases over the Tenesee or on the Missisippi in on down near theNatches for they must if possible be fixed with a thirst for back lands toeffect which no Pains must be spared...."

On the same day, Blount wrote to Georgia commissioners James McIntosh, StephenHeard, John Morrell and William Downes:

".... The Object of the Tenesee Company in purchasing the Bend and (Isuppose) your's in Accepting the appointment as commissioners musthave been the same, I mean private Emolument and in Order that wemay both obtain our purposes it is Necessary, We should understand eathOther and that our Acts should tend to our mutual advantage.... You havepower, to make the company such, compensation as may be deemed

Adequate and satisfactory. No Bond nor no Oath has been required nor noInstructions, given you... and if you accede to my Proposition of ourInterest being the same you will have a share of your own liberty..... Such

Another oppertunity may never present itself of Making a Spec and there'san old Proverb which says "make Hay while the sun shines," of which Iwish you to be mindfull.... I wish you an agreeable Journey and greateChoice and Great plenty of Cheekamagga Squaws."

Later came the fight for the admission of the State of Tennessee. Once Tennesseebecame a state, Blount, as the Federalist-appointed territorial governor, would nolonger be beholden to the Federalists in Philadelphia, nor would other Tennesseans forthat matter. So, the Federalists tried to prevent Tennessee Senators Blount and Cocke

from taking their Senate seats. Blount, who had once been a moderate if not aconservative, was now a confirmed Republican, and so were the rest of theconservative holdouts in liberal Tennessee, embittered by the Federalist obstruction totheir ambitions.

Blount was not as popular in Tennessee as the famed John Sevier, his longtime ally, buthe was popular enough, especially to the settlers who had due cause to appreciate hisland deals and to justly despise the Federalist government. He had a reputation forgetting things done, often by disreputable means. All of the above was not lost on hisfellow senators when they expelled him and proceeded to try him for high crimes andmisdemeanors.

As for crooked conduct, Blount was not the only great person to resort to deceitfulbusiness and political methods. William Blount is barely remembered outsideTennessee. Historians recall him as the ignominious Senator who was impeached by theHouse, then jumped bail and fled on horseback; the good senators eventually decidedthat senators could not be impeached. The greatest credit given Blount is for being thefounding father of the State of Tennessee. The State of Tennessee was just one of his



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deals. Blount was a pioneer wheeler-dealer, perhaps one of the greatest wheeler-dealers America has ever known. Pioneers had to do what he did; otherwise the UnitedStates of America would not be as freewheeling as it is today.

BROKEN TRUST AND BROKEN HEART

As we have seen, Article III of the Articles of Impeachment against U.S. Senator Blountmentions one Benjamin Hawkins:

"Wm. Blount, on or about the said twenty-first day of April, in the year ofour Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven, then being aSenator of the United States, and well knowing the premises, did, in theprosecution of criminal designs and of the conspiracies aforesaid, and themore effectually to accomplish his intention of exciting the Creek andCherokee nations of Indians to commence hostilities against the subjectsof His Catholic Majesty, further conspire and contrive to alienate and

divert the confidence of the said Indian tribes or nations from the saidBenjamin Hawkins, the principal temporary agent aforesaid, and todiminish, impair, and destroy the influence of the said Benjamin Hawkinswith the said Indian tribes, and their friendly intercourse andunderstanding with him...."

Benjamin Hawkins, a staunch Federalist, was sympathetic to the Indian's claims inrespect to the disputed boundary line, which was to be formally drawn pursuant to theold Treaty of Holston.D Blount and other real estate speculators, including Blountprotégé Andrew Jackson, were wheeling and dealing in large tracts of Indian land. The

speculators and settlers involved in the transactions figured the Indians wouldeventually be run off their land - they were correct: Jackson would see to that.

Blount effected the Treaty of Holston in 1791. The lands around Holston in EastTennessee were part of lands ceded by North Carolina to the United States some timeafter North Carolina had taken care of its Revolutionary War veterans and landspeculators by virtue of the "Land Grab Act" of 1783 - legislation pushed through byBlount and other speculators. About 4,000,000 acres of land were sold during theseven-month period that the land office was open, at a price of 10 pounds (about $5)per 100 acres, or a nickel an acre. Said lands were the basis of several largeTennessean fortunes.

The first cession to the federal government had been made in 1784, but it was repealeda few months later, shortly before a faction in East Tennessee had declaredindependence for a separate state - the State of Franklin. The Franklin delegates werenot aware of the repeal when they declared independence; they insisted on their newstate when they learned of it, stating that they had not deserted North Carolina, butthat North Carolina had deserted them. North Carolina was somewhat divided on the



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issue; some protested the land grab, and said the Tennessee land over the mountainswas inhabited by "fugitives from justice" and the "offscourings of the earth." Of courseBlount was interested in Franklin, but he was opposed to the repeal of the first cessionbecause he and other speculators figured that the federal government would protectthe title to the lands which they had purchased pursuant to the Land Grab Act. Despite

the resistance of its population, the State of Franklin soon became a "lost" state, and allwas forgiven. North Carolina dubbed the region the District of Washington, and, topacify the beasts, provided it with some autonomy. The State of Franklin's president,John Sevier, became brigadier general for the new district - he would later be governorof the State of Tennessee. The District of Washington got its own superior court judge,David Campbell; and Blount and Richard Caswell would treat with the Cherokees; andso on.

Once the Tennessee lands were finally ceded to the federal government by NorthCarolina, in 1789, the chief obstacle to the realization of the vast fortunes contemplatedby speculators was Indian land. North Carolina had claimed all the Tennessee landincluding Indian land during the Revolution, claiming that the Indians had forfeited theirtitle to it when they cooperated with the British. But the United States government didnot see it that way, and managed to set aside North Carolina's nullification of the Indiantitles and provide that white men had no title to Indian lands until the Indians cededsame to the United States - as late as 1796, when Tennessee became a state, nearlythree-fourths of the ceded area was still claimed by Cherokees and Chickasaws.

In 1790 Blount became Indian Superintendent and Governor of "The Territory of theUnited States South of the Ohio River." The 1791 Treaty of Holston established what hewould later call the "experimental line," when his greed moved him to fudge on the

boundary line as originally imagined. The problem with the "experimental line" was thatthe Indians believed they would have possession of certain land which the State ofFranklin had forced them to cede in the Treaty of Coyatee of 1786, land settled bywhites, many of them Blount's tenants. Otherwise they had no objections - furthermore,the tribes confirmed the cession of the Cumberland area in the middle of Tennessee. Ofcourse Blount wanted the experimental line to be actually drawn so that the disputedland be on the white side of the boundary. Hence he instructed James Carey, theinterpreter on the scene, who had, incidentally, witnessed the original treaty, to claimthat land for the whites, and to throw any blame onto President Washington in theevent the Indians objected - Blount's letter to Carey, which he turned over to Blount'sarch-enemy right away for forwarding to President Adams, was most incriminating, and

led to Blount's expulsion from the Senate and his impeachment by the House ofRepresentatives. Blount had feared that Benjamin Hawkins would have surveyors drawthe line as the Indians expected, in which case Blount and his tenants would be at asubstantial loss. Indeed, his worst fears came true, after the War Department ordered acorrect line drawn in 1797. Blount urged his tenants, three-hundred families or so, to"protect" their "civil liberties" - troops were brought in and the squatters were removedforthwith.



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Benjamin Hawkins, a conservative, proud, Southern aristocrat, was born in NorthCarolina to a wealthy father of English descent. Benjamin attended the College of NewJersey where he was in his senior year when General Washington recruited him as aninterpreter to his French officers. Hawkins returned to North Carolina after theRevolution. In 1784 he was elected to the Congress of the Confederation, and was

elected again in 1786-87. He was one of two North Carolina senators drawn by lotwhen the Constitution was adopted.

Hawkins served as an Indian commissioner as early as 1785. In 1786 Washingtonappointed him and two others to treat with the Creek confederacy. He accepted thepost of Indian agent to the Creeks over strenuous objections from his family. Hawkinsignored their pleas and forsook an aristocratic life of relative ease for the sake ofrendering public service in the midst of "untutored savages." The Creek domain overwhich Hawkins was agent was immense, and included Georgia, Alabama, andMississippi.

The Creeks enjoyed sixteen years of peace when Hawkins was agent. He brought hisslaves down from his Roanoke plantation and set up a model farm to serve as anagricultural college for the Indians. They appreciated his kindness over the years,bestowing on him the title, "Beloved Man of the Four Nations." When the War of 1812split the Creeks, Hawkins headed the friendly tribes, through half-breed chief WilliamMcIntosh. General Jackson crushed the Creeks and betrayed his Indian allies - enemiesand friends alike were relocated, put out of the white man's way so that he could enjoyall the land for himself without fear of Indian "depredations" and Indian alliances withhostile European powers.

Benjamin Hawkins was so embittered by the broken trust that he was said to have diedshortly thereafter, of a broken heart.

--WORK IN PROGRESS--

A One of the best and most popular biographies available on the life of William Blount is

William Blount , by William H. Masterson, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Press 1954.Masterson had access to the Blount papers.

B Source: Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States , 5th Congress,2nd Session, 2349-2350; full letter also appears in ANDREW JACKSON and EARLYTENNESSEE HISTORY by S.G. Heiskell, Knoxville: Ambrose 1918



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C Pertinent Constitutional Clauses on Impeachment

ARTICLE I

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shallhave the sole Power of Impeachment. (Section 2, clause 5)

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for thatPurpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United Statesis tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without theConcurrence of two thirds of the Members present. Judgment in Cases of Impeachmentshall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold andenjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Partyconvicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment andPunishment, according to Law. (Section 3, clauses 6-7)

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members fordisorderly Behaviour, and with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member. (Section5, clause 2)

ARTICLE II

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States,

and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the UnitedStates; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of theexecutive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respectiveOffices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences againstthe United States, except in Cases of Impeachment. (Section 2, clause 1)

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall beremoved from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or otherHigh Crimes and Misdemeanors. (Section 4)

ARTICLE III

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and suchTrial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes have been committed; but whennot committed within any State, the trial shall be at such Place of Places as theCongress may by Law have directed. (Section 2, clause 3)

D 1791 Holston Treaty



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A Treaty of Peace and; Friendship made and concluded between the President of theUnited States of America, on the Part and Behalf of the said States, and theundersigned Chiefs and Warriors, of the Cherokee Nation of Indians, on the part aide

Behalf of the said Nation.

The parties being desirous of establishing permanent peace and friendship between theUnited States and the said Cherokee Nation, and the citizens and members thereof, andto remove the causes of war, by ascertaining their limits and making other necessary,

just and friendly arrangements: The President of the United States, by William Blount,Governor of the territory of the United States of America, south of the river Ohio, andSuperintendant of Indian affairs for the southern district, who is vested with full powersfor these purposes, by and with-the advice and consent of the Senate of the UnitedStates. And the Cherokee Nation, by the undersigned Chiefs and Warriors representingthe said nation, have agreed to the following articles, namely:

ARTICLE I.There shall be perpetual peace and friendship between all the citizens of the UnitedStates of America, and all the individuals composing the whole Cherokee nation ofIndians.

ARTICLE II.The undersigned Chiefs and Warriors, for themselves and all parts of the Cherokeenation do acknowledge themselves and the said Cherokee nation, to be under theprotection of the said United States of America, and of no other sovereign whosoever;

and they also stipulate that the said Cherokee nation will not hold any treaty with anyforeign power, individual state, or with individuals of any state.

ARTICLE III.The Cherokee nation shall deliver to the Governor of the territory of the United Statesof America, south of the river Ohio, on or before the first day of April next, at this place,all persons who are now prisoners, captured by them from any part of the UnitedStates: And the United States shall on or before the same day, and at the same place,restore to the Cherokees, all the prisoners now in captivity, which the citizens of theUnited States have captured from them.

ARTICLE IV.The boundary between the citizens of the United States and the Cherokee nation, isand shall be as follows: Beginning at the top of the Currahee mountain, where theCreek line passes it; thence a direct line to Tugelo river; thence northeast to theOccunna mountain, and over the same along the South-Carolina Indian boundary to theNorth-Carolina boundary; thence north to a point from which a line is to be extended tothe river Clinch, that shall pass the Holston at the ridge which divides the waters



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running into Little River from those running into the Tennessee; thence up the riverClinch to Campbell's line, and along the same to the top of Cumberland mountain;thence a direct line to the Cumberland river where the Kentucky road crosses it; thencedown the Cumberland river to a point from which a south west line will strike the ridge

which divides the waters of Cumberland from those of Duck river, forty miles aboveNashville; thence down the said ridge to a point from whence a south west line willstrike the mouth of Duck river.

And in order to preclude forever all disputes relative to the said boundary, the sameshall be ascertained, and marked plainly by three persons appointed on the part of theUnited States, and three Cherokees on the part of their nation.

And in order to extinguish forever all claims of the Cherokee nation, or any part thereof,to any of the land lying to the right of the line above described. beginning as aforesaidat the Currahee mountain, it is hereby agreed, that in addition to the considerationheretofore made for the said land, the United States will cause certain valuable goods,to be immediately delivered to the undersigned Chiefs and Warriors, for the use of theirnation; and the said United States will also cause the sum of one thousand dollars to bepaid annually to the said Cherokee nation. And the undersigned Chiefs and Warriors, dohereby for themselves and the whole Cherokee nation, their heirs and descendants, forthe considerations above-mentioned, release, quit-claim, relinquish and cede, all theland to the right of the line described, and beginning as aforesaid.

ARTICLE V.It is stipulated and agreed, that the citizens and inhabitants of the United States, shall

have a free and unmolested use of a road from Washington district to Mero district, andof the navigation of the Tennessee river.

ARTICLE VI.It is agreed on the part of the Cherokees, that the United States shall have the sole andexclusive right of regulating their trade.

ARTICLE VII.The United States solemnly guarantee to the Cherokee nation, all their lands not herebyceded.

ARTICLE VIII.If any citizen of the United States, or other person not being an Indian, shall settle onany of the Cherokees' lands, such person shall forfeit the protection of the UnitedStates, and the Cherokees may punish him or not, as they please.

ARTICLE IX.



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No citizen or inhabitant of the United States, shall attempt to hunt or destroy the gameon the lands of the Cherokees; nor shall any citizen or inhabitant go into the Cherokeecountry, without a passport first obtained from the Governor of some one of the UnitedStates, or territorial districts, or such other person as the President of the United States

may from time to time authorize to grant the same.

ARTICLE X.If any Cherokee Indian or Indians, or person residing among them, or who shall takerefuge in their nation, shall steal a horse from, or commit a robbery or murder, or othercapital crime, on any citizens or inhabitants of the United States, the Cherokee nationshall be bound to deliver him or them up, to be punished according to the laws of theUnited States.

ARTICLE XI.If any citizen or inhabitant of the United States, or of either of the territorial districts ofthe United States, shall go into any town, settlement or territory belonging to theCherokees, and shall there commit any crime upon, or trespass against the person orproperty of any peaceable and friendly Indian or Indians, which if committed within the

jurisdiction of any state, or within the jurisdiction of either of the said districts, against acitizen or white inhabitant thereof, would be punishable by the laws of such state ordistrict, such offender or offenders, shall be subject to the same punishment, and shallbe proceeded against in the same manner as if the of fence had been committed withinthe jurisdiction of the state or district to which he or they may belong against a citizenor white inhabitant thereof.

ARTICLE XII.In case of violence on the persons or property of the individuals of either party, neitherretaliation or reprisal shall be committed by the other, until satisfaction shall have beendemanded of the party of which the aggressor is and shall have been refused.

ARTICLE XIII.The Cherokees shall give notice to the citizens of the United States, of any designswhich they may know, or suspect to be formed in any neighboring tribe, or by anyperson whatever, against the peace and interest of the United States.

ARTICLE XIV.

That the Cherokee nation may be led to a greater degree of civilization, and to becomeherdsmen and cultivators, instead of remaining in a state of hunters, the United Stateswill from time to time furnish gratuitously the said nation with useful implements ofhusbandry, and further to assist the said nation in so desirable a pursuit, and at thesame time to establish a certain mode of communication, the United States will sendsuch, and so many persons to reside in said nation as they may judge proper, notexceeding four in number, who shall qualify themselves to act as interpreters. These



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persons shall have lands assigned by the Cherokees for cultivation for themselves andtheir successors in office; but they shall be precluded exercising any kind of traffic.

ARTICLE XV.

All animosities for past grievances shall henceforth cease, and the contracting partieswill carry the foregoing treaty into full execution with all good faith and sincerity.

ARTICLE XVI.This treaty shall take effect and be obligatory on the contracting parties as soon as thesame shall have been ratified by the President of the United States, with the advice andconsent of the Senate of the United States. In witness of all and everything hereindetermined between the United States of America and the whole Cherokee nation, theparties have hereunto set their hands and seals, at the treaty ground on the bank ofthe Holston, near the mouth of the French Broad, within the United States, this secondday of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one.

William Blount, governor in and over the territory of the United States of America southof the river Ohio, and superintendent of Indian Affairs for the southern district,

Chuleoah, or the Boots, his x mark,Squollecuttah, or Hanging Maw, his x mark,Oecunna,or the Badger,his x mark,Enoleh, or Black Fox, his x mark,Nontuaka, or the Northward, his x mark,Tekakiska, his x mark

Chutloh, or King Fisher, his x mark,Tuckaseh,orTerrapin,his x mark,Kateh, his x markKunnochatutloh, or the Crane, his x markCanquillehanah, or the Thigh, his x mark,Chesquotteleneh, or Yellow Bird, his x mark,Chickasawtehe, or Chickasaw Killer, his x mark,Tuskegatehe, Tuskega Killer, his x mark,Kulsatehe, his x mark,Tinkshalene, his x markSawntteh, or Slave Catcher, his x mark,

Auknah, his x markOosenaleh, his x markKenotetah, or Rising Fawn, his x mark,Kanetetoka, or Standing Turkey, his x mark.

Yonewatleh, or Bear at Home, his x mark,Long Will, his x markKunoskeskie, or John Watts, his x mark,



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Nenetooyah, or Bloody Fellow, his x mark,Chuquilatague, or Double Head his x mark,Koolaquah, or Big Acorn, his x markToo wayelloh, or Bold Hunter, his x mark

Jahleoonoyehka, or Middle Striker, his x mark,Kinnesah, or Cabin, his x mark,Tullotehe, or Two Killer, his x markKaalouske, or Stopt Still, his x markKulsatche, his x mark,

Auquotague, the Little Turkey's Son, his x mark,Talohteske, or Upsetter, his x mark,Cheakoneske, or Otter Lifter, his x markKeshukaune, or She Reigns, his x mark,Toonaunailoh, his x mark,Teesteke, or Common Disturber his x mark,Robin McClemoreSkyukaJohn Thompson, Interpreter.James Cery, Interpreter.

Done in presence of-

Dan'l Smith, Secretary Territory United States south of the river OhioThomas Kennedy, of Kentucky.Jas. Robertson, of Mero District

Claiborne Watkins, of Virginia.Jno. McWhitney, of Georgia.Fauche, of Georgia.Titus Ogden, North Carolina.Jno. Chisolm, Washington District.Robert King.Thomas Gegg.

Additional Article To the Treaty made between the United States and the Cherokees onthe second day of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one.

IT is hereby mutually agreed between Henry Knox, Secretary of War, duly authorizedthereto in behalf of the United States, on the one part, and the undersigned chiefs andwarriors, in behalf of themselves and the Cherokee nation, on the other part, that thefollowing article shall be added to and considered as part of the treaty made betweenthe United States and the said Cherokee nation on the second day of July, onethousand seven hundred and ninety-one; to wit:



The sum to be paid annually by the United States to the Cherokee nation of Indians, inconsideration of the relinquishment of land, as stated in the treaty made with them onthe second day of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, shall be onethousand five hundred dollars instead of one thousand dollars, mentioned in the said

treaty.In testimony whereof, the said Henry Knox, Secretary of War, and the said chiefs andwarriors of the Cherokee nation, have hereunto set their hands and seals, in the city ofPhiladelphia, this seventeenth day of February, in the year of our Lord, one thousandseven hundred and ninety-two.H. Knox, Secretary of War,

Iskagua, or Clear Sky, his x mark (formerly Nenetooyah, or Bloody Fellow),Nontuaka, or the Northward, his x mark,Chutloh, or King Fisher, his x mark,Katigoslah, or the Prince, his x mark,Teesteke, or Common Disturber, his x mark,Suaka, or George Miller, his x mark,

In presence of-Thomas Grooter.Jno. Stagg, Jr.Leonard D. ShawJames Cery, sworn intrepreter to the Cherokee Nation.Source:Indian Affairs : Laws and Treaties

Vol II (Treaties)Compiled and Edited By Charles J. Kappler LL. M.Clerk to the Senate Committee on Indian AffairsWashington, DC : Government Printing Office, 1904

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