Charles R. Hicks

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Charles R. Hicks, longtime Second Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation and briefly Principal Chief himself in 1827 following the death of Pathkiller with John Ross as Second Principal Chief, before his own death just a few shorts weeks later brought that to an end. A protégé of the former warrior and Upper Towns chief James Vann, Hicks was one of the most influential leaders in the Nation during the period after the Chickamauga Wars to just past the first quarter of the 19th century. Extremely well-read and acculturated, his personal library was one of the biggest on the continent, public or private. A member of the Cherokee Triumvirate at the beginning of the 19th century, along with James Vann and Major Ridge. Elected Second Principal Chief under Pathkiller in 1811, a political dispute two years later left Hicks as de facto top chief with Pathkiller serving as a mere figurehead.


Preceded by
Pathkiller
Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
1827
Succeeded by
John Ross