Question

The following passage is an essay about Sequoyah and the development of the Cherokee writing system.

[1]
In the early nineteenth century, Sequoyah, a Cherokee silversmith who spoke no English, became convinced that the security and independence of his people depended on their mastering the "talking leaves"—the written language used by white settlers. While many of his contemporaries regarded these texts with skepticism or awe, viewing literacy as either a threat or a form of magic, Sequoyah recognized it as a practical tool of self-determination. He set out to create a written form of Cherokee, believing it would allow his nation to navigate the pressures of colonial expansion without losing their cultural identity.

[2]
His initial efforts were met with ridicule. Sequoyah spent years attempting to design a logographic system, creating a distinct character for every individual word. This approach proved unsustainable; the sheer volume of symbols was impossible for a reader to memorize. Recognizing the limits of this methodology, he began listening to spoken Cherokee with a new ear, isolating the recurring sound units that formed words. He identified eighty-five distinct syllables, pairing each with a character—some borrowed from English spelling books and Greek texts, though modified to represent entirely unrelated Cherokee sounds.

[3]
The resulting syllabary, completed in 1821, transformed Cherokee society almost overnight. Because the system was based on phonetics rather than complex spelling rules, Cherokee speakers could learn to read and write in a matter of days. The Cherokee National Council adopted the system, and soon, a bilingual newspaper, the *Cherokee Phoenix*, was circulating throughout the nation. Through the power of their new written language, the Cherokee drafted a constitution, codified their legal system, and recorded history on their own terms, establishing a literate infrastructure that served as a powerful defense against forced assimilation.

Suppose the writer's goal had been to write an essay demonstrating how the creation of a written language was essential to the legal recognition of Native American land rights by colonial governments. Would this essay accomplish this goal?