No, they were hinderances to the population, and the goverment delt with it. They (the Cherokee) were moved at "GUN POINT" by the Washington based army, out of the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, to Oklahoma. Their farms and porperty were siezed and given to white northerners. My father's Great Grandmother used to tell Dad stories about how the soilders would make them leave children and old, or sick people in the woods on what we call, and history calls. The Trail of Tears. My Great Great Grandmother was a little girl, and was lucky enough to be strong enough to walk all the way. As for the major reason for seccession, my history in my part of the country states that the north had placed a 10% export tariff on cotton and other textiles that the south was selling to Europe, trying to force the south to sell at a cheaper price to the northern businesses. It didn't work, as the profit was still there. Lincoln promised that if he were elected he would raise the tariff to 20% thereby forcing the souths hand by financial stress. Florida, I believe, stated that if Lincoln won they would seceed, but, one of the Carolinas beat them to it. It could have been the other way around on which state. I don't remember. There was some slavery in the north, and less than 5% of the southerners owned slaves. This is not to say slavery was right, it wasn't. It was more of the pot calling the kettle black and as always with the goverment, catering to greed. Another point seperately, was a prison camp in Chicago, mistreated and killed so many confederate prisioners that Chicagoians began helping the prisioners. Lincoln allowed, gave permission actually, for the military to declare marshal law on Chicago. Lincoln was not the great liberator and humanitarian many people think he was. He basically destroyed STATES RIGHTS for all time catering to northern BIG BUSINESS.
