Vanished Worlds, Enduring People

U. S. Supreme Court. Opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States...1832...in the case of Samuel A. Worcester, plaintiff, ...versus the State of Georgia. [view]

This case, prelude to the infamous forced Cherokee Removal from Georgia and the Carolinas in 1838, upheld the Cherokee assertion that the federal government, not the states, had jurisdiction when dealing with Indian tribes. When the State of Georgia did not comply with this decision, however, President Jackson did nothing to enforce it. Unable to reach an agreement for removal with the elected Cherokee government, the U. S. signed a treaty with a dissident faction in 1835. The treaty was quickly ratified by Congress and upheld despite a petition signed by more than 15,000 Cherokees denying its legitimacy.