ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author explains the significance of the statistical record to the debate over the Cherokee removal and then examines economic data found in the 1835 census to look for evidence of surplus production by Eastern Cherokee households. He describes the stated purpose of the census and the categories of information recorded in it. The author presents a comparative analysis of summary statistics for the sections of Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia that comprised the Eastern Cherokee Nation as well as statistics on literacy and skill levels among the Cherokee for each state. He evaluates the extent of surplus Cherokee agricultural production. The author estimates the aggregate surplus production. A surprising degree of disagreement about Cherokee economic progress prior to their removal westward exists in today's literature. Southeast is that many of these households depended on other human and physical capital to make a living.
