Worcester v. Georgia was a landmark Supreme Court case in 1832 that involved the Cherokee Nation and the state of Georgia. The case revolved around Georgia's attempts to remove the Cherokee people from their ancestral lands and relocate them to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Chief Justice John Marshall delivered the opinion, ruling that the Cherokee Nation was sovereign and had the right to govern its own territory. He declared that Georgia's laws did not apply to the Cherokee and that their removal was unconstitutional. Despite the court's ruling, President Andrew Jackson and the state of Georgia ignored the decision, leading to the forced relocation of the Cherokee people in what is known as the Trail of Tears.
