Sequoyah was born in 1770 near Knoxville, Tenn to a woman named Wuteh and an unknown father. Much of his early life is debated, but accounts state that he never went to school or learned English. Sequoyah grew up to be a silversmith and became impressed by the white settlers' use of writing. He began creating a writing system for the Cherokee language around 1809. The Nation of Cherokees accepted his system in 1825, and the first Cherokee newspaper was launched in 1828.

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