Evidence of Surplus Production in the Cherokee Nation Prior to Removal
利用统计数据证明，在1830年代被迫迁移前，大多数切罗基家庭已生产剩余粮食，表明存在可通过迁移政策转移给白人农民的经济租金。
Debate over the level of economic development for the Eastern Cherokees was heated during the 1830s. Removal opponents argued that the Cherokees had adopted white agricultural methods, whereas advocates of removal maintained that little evidence of progress existed. Removal advocates believed that Cherokee economic progress required that they be removed from contact with whites. This article examines the statistical record to show that a majority of Cherokee households produced surplus food before removal. The large number of Cherokee households producing surpluses before removal suggests the existence of significant rents to be transmitted to white farmers via the removal policy.