Unworthy Republic was written by Claudio Saunt, a professor of American History at the University of Georgia. It is about the government Indian Removal of 1820s through 1840s. Saunt addresses Georgia and that state's advocacy and execution of the policy, but also discusses in depth Indian
Removal in Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, as well as the arduous journeys experienced by the various tribes as they moved (or more often were moved) to new lands in Oklahoma and Kansas. Saunt introduces key characters on both sides of the issue and reveals the impact of the policy on each of their lives. Among the main characters, I enjoyed learning more about John Ross of the Cherokee, since I once lived on John Ross Road near Chattanooga, Tennessee. It's an account of broken treaties and includes how and why a state government decided to ignore a Supreme Court verdict. Indian leaders like Osceola and Black Hawk reacted to the policy with aggressive, militant resistance; John Ross used the American legal system to argue the Cherokees' and other tribes' cases. These leaders agreed in resisting orders to abandon properties and possessions to move to another part of the continent. They each encountered opposition within their own tribes from other leaders who believed that the most beneficial course would be to comply. Dr. Saunt recounts the experiences of those who left their homes as well as those who resisted. The atrocities that Saunt recounts may cause you to reconsider the concept of Manifest Destiny and perhaps reevaluate your list of our nation's best Presidents.
What do the The Trail of Tears and the U. S.- Seminole War have to do with comforting people? This book is not about Christian discipleship or leadership, but I discerned principles from the accounts recorded in it. First, the Indians who responded to a confusing and terrifying change in American government policy towards them often listened to spiritual leaders as they searched for answers. Many had converted to Christianity. Their preachers spoke to the crisis. In their letters to the President and other government leaders, Indians appealed to biblical principles, and also to key American historical values derived from the Bible's teaching and set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Second, they responded as a community. Leaders like John Ross led by consensus. They were not loners; they helped one another (although there were Indians who took advantage of others misfortune). Although some committed suicide, others survived because friends and family reached out to help them. Bible uses metaphors like family and body to describe followers of Christ as a collective group. Third, this book reminds us that institutions that we support and hold dear may disappoint or even horrify us at times. When they do, the human toll can break our hearts and challenge us to rethink our worldview, the principles by which we live our lives. Unworthy Republic introduces flawed heroes and principled villains. Cherokee Chief John Ross was a slaveowner. The politicians and bureaucrats who led the Indian Removal included people who kept meticulous records and worried about the welfare of the uprooted Indian families, even if they did not contest the policy itself. Soldiers questioned their commanders when ordered to commit inhumane actions. Even when everyone around us chooses to do evil, each of us can choose to do right. Even our world falls apart, we can survive.
I love to study history. I did not enjoy at all some of what I learned from this book. People for whom cities, counties, corporations, and universities are named are revealed at their worst. Other leaders disappoint, but then seem to have awakened to the horror of what they had backed. As I read the book, I noticed disturbing parallels in attitudes between the 1830s and 2020. If we seek to follow Christ, we must govern our actions and attitudes with a disciplined love that keeps promises and seeks the best for others. Life is not easy. Each of us confront moments of ethical challenge in our lives. May we keep focus on Christ and what it means to follow him in such moments.
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