John Rollin Ridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Rollin Ridge
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| Born |
Chee-squa-ta-law-ny (Yellow Bird) – more accurately, "tsisgwa daloni"
March 19, 1827 |
| Died | October 5, 1867 (aged 40) |
| Cause of death | encephalitis lethargia ("Brain fever") |
| Resting place | Grass Valley, California |
| Nationality | American, British |
| Other names | Chee-squa-ta-law-ny (Yellow Bird) |
| Citizenship | London |
| Occupation | Novelist, newspaperman |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Wilson |
| Parent(s) | John Ridge Sarah Bird Northrup |
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John Rollin Ridge (Cherokee name: Cheesquatalawny, or Yellow Bird, born March 19, 1827 – died October 5, 1867) was a member of the Cherokee Nation. He is known as the first Native American to write a novel. After moving to California in 1850, he started his writing career. His most famous work is The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta: The Celebrated California Bandit (1854). This book was about a well-known outlaw of that time.
John Rollin Ridge's father, John Ridge, was sadly killed in 1839 in Indian Territory. This happened after the Cherokee people were forced to move from their lands. His father was killed by other Cherokee who disagreed with him signing a treaty to give up tribal land to the United States. To keep him safe, Ridge's mother took him to Fayetteville, Arkansas. He later went to school in Massachusetts. When he returned to Arkansas, he studied law, became a lawyer, and got married.
In 1850, he traveled West during the California Gold Rush. His wife and daughter later joined him there. In California, he began writing poems and essays. In his novel and other writings, he spoke out against racism. This was especially true for the unfair treatment of Mexican people, which happened a few years after the United States took over California and much of the Southwest. After the American Civil War, he was part of a group of Cherokee who worked to create a new peace treaty with the United States.
Contents
Biography of John Rollin Ridge
Early Life and School
John Rollin Ridge was born in 1827 in New Echota, Georgia. His father was John Ridge, and his mother was Sarah Bird Northrup. Sarah was a European-American woman from Cornwall, Connecticut. John Ridge, his father, had attended the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall starting in 1819. Sarah's father was in charge of the school. John Rollin Ridge's parents got married in 1824.
Both his father and grandfather, Major Ridge, signed the Treaty of New Echota. This treaty gave away Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi River. The U.S. government had pressured the Cherokee to move. They were eventually forced to move west of the Mississippi River. This difficult journey is known as the Trail of Tears. When Ridge was twelve, he saw his father killed in Indian Territory. This was done by supporters of Cherokee leader John Ross, who strongly opposed the treaty. After this tragic event, his mother, Sarah Bird Northrup Ridge, took John R. Ridge to Fayetteville, Arkansas for safety.
In 1843, Ridge went to the Great Barrington School in Great Barrington, Massachusetts for two years. After that, he returned to Fayetteville to study law. During this time, his first known writing was published. He wrote a poem called "To a Thunder Cloud," which appeared in the Arkansas State Gazette.
After becoming a lawyer, Ridge married Elizabeth Wilson, a white woman, in 1847. They had one daughter, Alice, in 1848.
Moving West
In 1849, Ridge was involved in a dispute over a horse and killed David Kell. Kell was believed to have been involved in his father's death. Even though Ridge had a good reason for acting in self-defense, he left for Missouri to avoid being charged. The next year, he went West to join the California Gold Rush. He did not enjoy being a miner. While he was there, his wife and daughter joined him.
Writing Career and Famous Novel
In California, Ridge published poems in The Golden Era and other magazines. These poems were later collected and published after his death. He also wrote essays for the Democratic Party.
In California, he wrote what is now seen as the first novel by a Native American. It was also the first novel written in California. The book was called The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta: The Celebrated California Bandit (1854). This book was published six years after the Mexican-American War. In that war, the United States gained California and other large areas in the Southwest. Ridge's fictional story explored the life of a famous Mexican bandit. He showed the bandit coming to California to find wealth during the Gold Rush. The bandit turns to crime after white men hurt his wife and brother. This novel criticized American racism, especially towards Mexicans who had recently been defeated in the war. Even though the book was very popular, Ridge never made money from it. By the time he died, it had not even made a profit.
Ridge was also a writer and the first editor of Sacramento Bee. He also wrote for the San Francisco Herald and other newspapers. As an editor, he supported policies that encouraged Native Americans to adopt American ways of life, much like his father had. He seemed to trust the government to protect their treaty rights. However, he sometimes overlooked how the government had failed the Cherokee and other Native American groups.
Some parts of Ridge's life were different from his anti-racism in writing. He grew up on a plantation and also owned enslaved African Americans when he lived in Arkansas. Also, he had expressed beliefs that California Indians were not as good as those from other tribes.
About The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta
Ridge wrote his novel about a Mexican man. This character was based on a legendary figure that newspapers often talked about. Ridge showed Joaquin Murieta as a young, innocent, and hardworking man. But he was stopped from building a life in the United States because of racism. One example of this was the 1850 Foreign Miner's Tax Law. This law was passed two years after the Mexican-American War. It made it very hard for Mexicans to mine for gold. Ridge's story shows Murieta as a bandit who gathers many followers. He terrorizes California for several months with violent acts. Ridge's Murieta is also shown as a romantic figure. He often shows kindness (especially to women) and enjoys hearing stories about himself. He keeps his identity so secret that he can walk through towns without being recognized.
Even though the novel was a fictional story, many people believed it was true. Some historians even used it as a source when writing about Murrieta's life.
Civil War and Treaty Talks
During the Civil War, Ridge openly supported the "Copperheads". These were people who sympathized with the Southern states. He was against the election of Abraham Lincoln and the President's Emancipation Proclamation. He blamed the war on those who wanted to end slavery.
After the war, the government asked Ridge to lead the Southern Cherokee group in talks for a new treaty. This part of the Cherokee Nation had supported the Confederacy. The Confederacy had promised Native Americans in Indian Territory their own state if they won the war. Despite Ridge's best efforts, the Cherokee region was not allowed to become a separate state in the Union.
Death
In December 1866, Ridge went back to his home in Grass Valley, California. He died on October 5, 1867, from "brain fever" (Encephalitis lethargica). He was buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in Grass Valley.
See also
In Spanish: John Rollin Ridge para niños
