University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository History ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 7-3-2012 Legacy of Betrayal: A Trans-Atlantic Comparison of the Cherokee Removal and the Highland Clearances Lisa Brown Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hist_etds Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Brown, Lisa. "Legacy of Betrayal: A Trans-Atlantic Comparison of the Cherokee Removal and the Highland Clearances." (2012). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hist_etds/11 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in History ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Lisa Joan Brown Candidate History Department This dissertation is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Dissertation Committee: Margaret Connell-Szasz Chairperson Kimberly Gauderman Charlie Steen Colin Calloway i LEGACY OF BETRAYAL: A TRANS-ATLANTIC COMPARISON OF THE CHEROKE REMOVAL AND THE HIGHLAND CLEARANCES by LISA J. BROWN B.A., History-University of Texas at Austin, 1997 M.A., History-Central Michigan University, 2000 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy History The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico May 2012 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I need to thank my parents, Dwight and Karen Brown, without whose constant love, support and encouragement I would never have accomplished this goal. As a professor and a teacher, they instilled in me a love of learning that defines who I am and still continues to drive me. I also would like to thank my brothers, Delon and Greg, and their families, for their support and love as well. Next, I need to thank Dr. Howard Yonas, whose knowledge of the obscure and skillful surgical hands, has allowed me to carry forward in life ―almost‖ as good as new. To my advisor, Margaret Connell-Szasz, I give my utmost thanks for all your advice and guidance over these many years. From the first time I walked in your office many years ago, you have always been willing to listen and help direct my focus in the most productive avenues. From the classroom to seminars, to chats in your office, to running into you and Dr. Szasz at the NLS in Edinburgh, you have always encouraged my interest in comparative history. Thank you for fostering a growing love of Native American history, and being equally nurturing of my existing love of Scottish history. And a special thank you for not telling me, or letting me, give up seven years ago when others told me I should, and it would have been such an easy out. For countless ―pep talks,‖ hugs, encouragement, and assuring me I‘m not the first, or last, who will survive the range of emotions that come with getting a doctorate, I thank Kimberly Gauderman. You have gone above and beyond over the years, and I especially thank you for welcoming me into your home and family for holidays. You saw something in me I never saw in myself, and I thank you for your unwavering belief in me that helps me to believe in myself. For his incomparable hugs, contagious smiles, easy manner and supportive words, I thank Charlie Steen. From the classroom to your office hours, your enthusiasm for history and your students is palpable and such an inspiration. I‘d also like to thank Patricia Ranft, who when I was at Central Michigan where there was no Scottish historian, stepped out of her field to learn along with me, allowing me to pursue my dream of studying Scottish history; and especially for encouraging me to pursue the Ph.D. And many thanks to Colin Calloway, for agreeing to serve on my committee and providing another example of someone who does not have to be ―of‖ a people to love their history to provide incomparable scholarship regarding those histories. To the amazing colleagues I‘ve been blessed with throughout my academic career, you all helped shaped the scholar and person I am today. My thanks to Duncan Woodhead, my phenomenal colleague and first friend in Mt. Pleasant, MI, where the idea for this project first formulated and grew while talking over beers at the Bird. You are an inspiration and your insight has been invaluable. To my many colleagues at the University of New Mexico, there are too many of you to properly thank you all, but a special thanks to Tiffany Sippial, who has been my best friend since we were nine and iii was the first to encourage me to contact Dr. Connell-Szasz and explore the possibility of pursuing my doctorate at UNM. Between Tiffany, Amy Scott and Blair Woodard, I managed to win the ―trifecta‖ of friends/colleagues who were always at the ready with advice, support and much needed smiles. I also want to thank Sonia Dickey, Sarah Payne and Breanna Griego. To Sonia and Sarah, who took me under their wings when I first arrived in Albuquerque, and stood by me ―in the trenches,‖ all these years, I owe many thanks. Thank you for the breaks, the smiles, the laughter to fight back the tears, and reminding me to never take life too seriously. To Breanna Griego, who started out as and has remained one of my biggest cheerleaders. Thank you for your constant encouragement, support and love. You never failed to believe in my topic and me and you provided unquestioning friendship and support along the way. Between all these amazing people, and others, countless hours were spent talking over my topic, my research and all sorts of scholarly ideas that have shaped the scholar I am. I also thank my other friends who have supported me and believed in me all these years. To Susan Biles, my other best friend from childhood who has remained one of my closest confidants, thank you for always knowing I could do it and telling me so when I began to falter. To Marisa Castaneda, Carla Beasely and Spring Robbins, who came to visit while I was in Scotland, cheered me on, and provided a much needed reprieve from the archives. And to Ann Collinge, who provided a warm and welcoming environment for my lengthy stays in Edinburgh. My thanks to the University of New Mexico‘s Center for Regional Studies for the very generous graduate fellowship (2008-2009) that helped fund my six months of research in Edinburgh, Scotland. I could not have managed to stay as long without the good fortune of this fellowship. I also need to the thank the History Graduate Students‘ Association and the Graduate Professional Students Association for the grants that helped fund preliminary trips to Oklahoma and Georgia to scout the archives before my move east. After two years of research in the U.S. and abroad, I need to thank the archivists and staff at the University of Oklahoma‘s Western History Collection, Oklahoma Historical Society, Cherokee Heritage Museum archives, and a special thanks to April Miller of Tulsa‘s Gilcrease Museum Archives for the many private appointments with which she accommodated me. My thanks to the unnamed person or persons who painstakingly transcribed the thousands of documents found in Cherokee Letters, Talks and Treaties, and the staff who assisted me in finding dozens of microfilm documents at the Georgia Department of Archives and History in Atlanta. To the friendly and helpful staff at the National Archives and Records Administration, Southeast Region, I also owe great thanks. My appreciation also goes to the amazing staff at Scotland‘s National Archives, the Highland Council Archives, and most especially the staff at the National Library of Scotland, who brought out hundreds and hundreds of boxes from the Sutherland Estate Papers for me to peruse on a daily basis for six months; and my thanks to the reproduction staff who, as I ran out of time in Edinburgh, patiently read my numerous and detailed requests for expedited copies of documents I had not yet managed to read. iv To Dr. Julia Coates, Cherokee Council representative at large and professor of Native American Studies at University of California, Davis, I owe special thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me, offering incredible insight and helping to guide my research, educating me on current Cherokee Nation affairs, and especially for inviting me to attend the Cherokee Nation History course you offered in Dallas in 2007. My thanks are also extended to the Newberry Library‘s Native American and Indigenous Studies summer internship (2010). The program itself, as well as the scholars I met, interacted with, and befriended, remain one of my most cherished academic experiences. This prestigious award afforded access to the John Howard Payne papers and exposure to fellow students of Native American history, incomparably enriching my experience as a scholar as well as broadening the parameters of my dissertation. Finally, my thanks to Yolanda Martinez, the History Department administrator. For all your help over these many years, for being the voice of reason when I was ready to break down in tears (and often did), and for making what seemed the impossible quite simple with the wave of your magic wand, I thank you! I‘d also like to thank the departmental secretaries, Dana Ellison, Helen Ferguson and Barbara Wafer, for the many ready smiles, hugs and words of encouragement every time I walked in the door. My hat is off to you four amazing ladies, I can‘t imagine all the work that goes on ―behind the scenes,‖ but I know the department and myself are grateful that all of you make it appear so seamless! This has been a long journey, and those who helped along the way are numerous and varied, so if I have forgotten to specifically mention anyone, I apologize and please know that you are appreciated.