U5L4 WESTERN MOVEMENT QUIZ
1. B
2. A
3. C
4. C
5. C
6. D
7. How did the Supreme Court decision in Worcester v. Georgia and the Indian Removal Act lead to the removal and resettlement of Native American groups?
Answer: (be sure to paraphrase it well)
In Worcester v. Georgia, (1832), the US Supreme Court decided the states (in this case, Georgia) had no right to redraw the boundaries of Native American territories, or to require white people to purchase a license to live on the land. As a result, the lower court decision convicting eleven missionaries of violating state law by refusing to purchase a permit to live on Cherokee land was reversed.
The seven-member Supreme Court, lead by Chief Justice John Marshall, voted 6-1 on March 3, 1832, to overturn the missionaries' convictions.
The Supreme Court's decision in Worcester v. Georgia affirmed the sovereignty and territorial rights of Native American groups. This decision was significant because it established that Native American tribes were separate nations with their own laws and rights, and that the states did not have the authority to infringe upon their territory.
However, despite this ruling, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was passed by Congress, which forcibly relocated Native American tribes from their ancestral lands in the southeastern United States to territories west of the Mississippi River. President Andrew Jackson signed the act into law, and it provided funds for the negotiation of treaties that would result in the removal of native tribes.
The combination of the Supreme Court's decision in Worcester v. Georgia and the Indian Removal Act laid the groundwork for the removal and resettlement of Native American groups. The government used the legal authority of the Indian Removal Act to negotiate treaties with various tribes, often under duress, resulting in the forced removal of thousands of Native Americans from their homes.
This relocation, known as the Trail of Tears, involved forced marches, often in harsh conditions, where thousands of Native Americans suffered and died. Native American groups were resettled in designated Indian Territory areas, which later became the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska.
In summary, the Supreme Court decision in Worcester v. Georgia recognized the sovereignty and territorial rights of Native American tribes, but the Indian Removal Act allowed the government to forcibly relocate them. This led to the removal and resettlement of Native American groups, most notably through the tragic events of the Trail of Tears.