1. Explain Supreme Court case Worcester v. Georgia, what was the case about?
2. What was the outcome of their decision?
3. How did Jackson respond to the decision? 4. What was the effect on the Native Americans?
1. Worcester v. Georgia was a landmark Supreme Court case that took place in 1832. The case revolved around the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation and their legal rights within the state of Georgia. The state of Georgia had enacted laws that essentially made it illegal for non-Native Americans to live within Cherokee territory without special permission. Samuel Worcester, a non-Native American missionary, and others were arrested for living in the Cherokee Nation without a license.
2. The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled in favor of Worcester and the Cherokee Nation. Chief Justice John Marshall, who wrote the opinion, declared that the laws enacted by the state of Georgia were unconstitutional. Marshall argued that the Cherokee Nation possessed inherent sovereignty and their laws superseded state laws. He further stated that the federal government held exclusive authority in regulating Indian affairs, thereby invalidating the actions of the state of Georgia.
3. President Andrew Jackson notoriously responded to the decision by ignoring it. He is often famously quoted as saying, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it." Jackson had a long-standing policy of removing Native Americans from their lands and relocating them to the west in what came to be known as the Indian Removal Act. Despite the Supreme Court ruling, Jackson refused to enforce it and proceeded with his policy of Indian removal.
4. As a result of Jackson's defiance and implementation of the Indian Removal Act, the effect on Native Americans, including the Cherokee Nation, was devastating. It led to the forced removal of thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral lands in the southeastern United States to designated reservations, primarily in present-day Oklahoma. This forced relocation, known as the Trail of Tears, resulted in immense suffering and death for many Native Americans, contributing to the long-standing mistreatment of indigenous peoples in American history.