Jeremiah F. Evarts (February 3, 1781 – May 10, 1831), also known by the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

William Penn, was a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

missionary, reformer, and activist for the rights of

American Indians in the United States Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States (Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United States are ...

, and a leading opponent of the

Indian removal Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a de ...

policy of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

government.

Early years

Evarts was born in

Sunderland, Vermont Sunderland is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,056 at the 2020 census. It is home to the mail-order company Orvis. Geography Sunderland is located on the eastern side of Bennington County, approximately h ...

, the son of James Evarts, and graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1802. At Yale, he was a member of

Brothers in Unity Brothers in Unity (formally, the Society of Brothers in Unity) is an undergraduate society at Yale University. Founded in 1768 as a literary and debating society that encompassed nearly half the student body at its 19th-century peak, the group dis ...

– a literary and debating society. He was admitted to the bar in 1806. Evarts married the widow Mehitabel Sherman Barnes, a daughter of United States Declaration of Independence signer

Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign four of the great state papers of the United States related to the founding: the Cont ...

, and a member of the extended Baldwin, Hoar & Sherman family that had a great influence on U.S. public affairs. Jeremiah and Mehitabel Sherman Evarts were the parents of

William M. Evarts William Maxwell Evarts (February 6, 1818February 28, 1901) was an American lawyer and statesman from New York who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York. He was renowned for his skills as a li ...

, who later became a

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

US Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

and a

US Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from New York.

Battle against Indian removal

Evarts was influenced by the effects of the

Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...

and served the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

as its treasurer from 1812–1820 and Secretary from 1821 until his death in 1831. Evarts was the editor of ''

The Panoplist ''The Panoplist'' was a religious monthly magazine printed from 1805 until 1820 edited by Jeremiah Evarts. Other names for the publication *''The Panoplist''; or, ''The Christian Armory'' (1805-1808). *''Panoplist and Missionary Magazine'' (1808- ...

'', a religious monthly magazine from 1805 until 1820, where he published over 200 essays. He wrote twenty-four essays on the rights of Indians under the pen name "William Penn". He was one of the leading opponents of

in general and the removal of the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

from the Southeast in particular. He engaged in several lobbying efforts including convincing Congress and President

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...

to retain funding for civilizing efforts. He was a leader of the unsuccessful fight against President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...

of 1830. This law led to the forcible removal of the Cherokees in 1838, known as the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

. Evarts hoped to defeat the

by organizing "friendly congressmen", who he hoped would convince enough Jacksonians removal was immoral, and so pressure them to vote against the bill, while also attempting to mobilize public opinion against removal.Andrew, John A., III. ''From Revivals to Removal: Jeremiah Evarts, the Cherokee Nation, and the Search for the Soul of America'' (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1992), p.220. In 1830,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

passed a law which prohibited whites from living on Indian territory after March 31, 1831 without a license from the state. This law was written to enable removing the white missionaries that Jeremiah had organized through the

ABCFM The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

. These missionaries were trying to help the Indians resist removal through efforts to integrate them into the white society through conversion and education. In the wake of the passage of the Indian Removal Act, Jeremiah encouraged the Cherokees to take their case against this and other laws that they felt were intended to annihilate them to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, which they did in

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia ''Cherokee Nation v. Georgia'', 30 U.S. (5 Pet.) 1 (1831), was a United States Supreme Court case. The Cherokee Nation sought a federal injunction against laws passed by the U.S. state of Georgia depriving them of rights within its boundaries, but ...

Death and legacy

He died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

on May 10, 1831 in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

having overworked himself in the campaign against the

. He was buried in the

Grove Street Cemetery Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground is a cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, that is surrounded by the Yale University campus. It was organized in 1796 as the New Haven Burying Ground and incorporated in October 1797 to replace the ...

New Haven, CT New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

. According to historian Francis Paul Prucha, "the Christian crusade against the removal of the Indians died with Evarts." The effect that Evarts's activism for the rights of indigenous peoples had on U.S. foreign policy through his son,

who was Secretary of State during the Hayes administration (1877–1881), is a question for historians. The moral and religious arguments that Evarts used against the

had later resonance in the

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

movement.

Publications by or referring to Evarts

* Andrew, John A., III. ''From Revivals to Removal: Jeremiah Evarts, the Cherokee Nation, and the Search for the Soul of America''. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1992. * Norgren, Jill, ''Cherokee Cases: Two Landmark Federal Decisions in the Fight for Sovereignty'', University of Oklahoma Press (2004). * Oliphant, J. Orin, ed. ''Through the South and West with Jeremiah Evarts in 1826.'' Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: Bucknell University Press, 1956. * Prucha, Francis Paul, ed. ''Cherokee Removal: The "William Penn" Essays & Other Writings by Jeremiah Evarts''. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1981; containing essays originally published as ''Essays On The Present Crisis..American Indians'' in 1829. * Tracy, E.C. ''Memoir of the Life of Jeremiah Evarts, Esq.'' Boston: Crocker and Brewster, 1845. * Massachusetts Marriage Index, 1784–1840

References

External links

Reference to Jeremiah as a notable Yale graduate

Story of the founding of Middlebury College (The lack of VT colleges concerned Jeremiah's father.)

Sherman Genealogy Including Families of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, England
By Thomas Townsend Sherman {{DEFAULTSORT:Evarts, Jeremiah 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis American Congregationalist missionaries Congregationalist missionaries in the United States Native Americans' rights activists Yale College alumni 1781 births 1831 deaths Burials at Grove Street Cemetery Tuberculosis deaths in South Carolina People from Sunderland, Vermont