Presented by Dr. Michael Morris of the College of Coastal Georgia, “Cherokee Indian Removal in Georgia: A Battle for the Soul of the Nation,” tells the story of the moral and political effects of the Congressional debate over the Jackson administration’s Indian Removal Bill on the young American republic. The political arguments in Congress over the merits of the Indian Removal Bill desired by then President Andrew Jackson put the nation into an ethnical quandary.  Proponents of the Removal publicly stated it was in the best interests of Indians to remove them from some of the more unhealthy aspects of contact with mainstream America, such as disease and alcohol.  Critics of Removal claimed Removal was just a wolf in sheep's clothing—a poorly disguised attempt just to take more Indian land, especially that of the North Georgia gold deposits. What doomed the great moral debate in Congress was that it got turned into a North versus South argument some twenty years before the Civil War. Those who voiced their opinions in the great debate predicted some dire consequences for the United States over Removal.   The great Indian debate has some lasting ramifications in modern times—the city of Dahlonega promotes its gold rush history doing little to balance it with its Cherokee history.  The gold dome of  Price Memorial Hall on the UNG campus is a painful reminder of that unbalanced history.

Michael Morris, PhD is Professor of History at the College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick. In addition to teaching American History and World History survey classes, Michael teaches Native American History, Atlantic World History, Social and Cultural History, American Revolution, Early Republic US, The Age of Thomas Jefferson, The Age of Andrew Jackson. He has taught history at the post-secondary level since 1994.  Michael publishes and presents scholarship at the regional level on topics involving the intersection of Native American and British Colonial culture. He has published three books, a book chapter, and numerous articles and reviews in peer reviewed journals, and his most recent work, Cherokee Odyssey: The Journey from Sovereign to "Civilized."  Michael accepted an invitation to join the GA TOTA Board in 2021. He was recruited by former colleague and fellow Board member Lynne Cabe for his scholarship in Cherokee and Muscogee (Creek) history. Michael has made significant contributions to GA TOTA’s work with the GA Department of Education in developing K-12 teaching and learning resources on the Cherokee and Muscogee (Creek).