Answer:
Chief John Ross died shortly after the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866 were signed. His nephew, William Potter Ross, succeeded him. Unfortunately, William did not have the same tenacity and experience that his uncle had, and he couldn’t effectively unite his people. He also carried a longstanding resentment towards the Confederate Indians, which only served to widen the gap between the two factions in the nation. An election was held in 1867, and Lewis Downing, a Baptist minister and a colonel of the Union Cherokee unit, was elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee and replaced William P. Ross. Downing had the support of many factions in the tribe, so he became its new principal chief.
