6. John Ross, et al, to James Monroe, 2 March 1825
Respected Sir
In pursuance of letter of instruction from the Executive authority of the Cherokee Nation, we have the honor to address you, on the eve of your retirement from the exalted station which you have so conspicuously occupied for the last eight years; and to express to you, in behalf of the Cherokee People, their feelings of gratitude for the many blessings which they have enjoyed under the auspices of your paternal administration. The introduction of literature, manufacture, agriculture and the mechanic arts among the Cherokees, have progressed and prospered in a degree to meet the highest expectation; a continuation of those blessings under the fostering care of this magnanimous Government, and a permanent protection of their rights as secured to them by Treaties in the land of their nativity; cannot and will not fail to ensure a complete civilization of the whole Nation in due time. In communicating to you the grateful feelings of our Nation; be pleased to accept of our best wishes for your health & the enjoyment of a long and blessed life in you retirement. from Your Unworthy, but Most devoted Hble Servants.
John Ross George Lowery
Elijah Hicks
6. John Ross, et al, to James Monroe, 2 Mar 1825, in Gary E. Moulton, ed., The Papers of Chief John Ross vol. 1 (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985), 102.