Worcester V. Georgia Case Study

When the Georgia government realized that Worcester was helping the Cherokee, they arrested him a total of three times; the last time, he was convicted along with other missionaries and sentenced to four years in prison. The Cherokee tribe had paid a lawyer to represent Worcester in his case Worcester v. Georgia in the U.S. Supreme court. The Supreme court ruled in Worcester’s favor declaring that the Cherokees possessed the right to live free from the state’s trespasses. Even though the Supreme Court ruled in Worcester’s favor, Georgia ignored the ruling and did not remove the missionaries from prison and continued to remove Cherokees from their land. President Jackson also did not enforce the ruling and told the Cherokee people to either leave the land or fall under Georgia’s jurisdiction. (Garrison, 2004) In the end, tens of thousands of Cherokee people were forced by federal soldiers to leave their homes a move west from Georgia to Oklahoma in what many know as the “trail of tears” (Foner, 2012)

The Cherokee Removal is a brief history with documents by Theda Perdue and Michael Green. In 1838-1839 the US troops expelled the Cherokee Indians from their ancestral homeland in the Southeast and removed them to the Indian Territory in what is now Oklahoma. The removal of the Cherokees was a product of the demand for land during the growth of cotton agriculture in the Southeast, the discovery of gold on the Cherokees land, and the racial prejudice that many white southerners had toward the Indians.

The U.S. Government had many reasons or why the Cherokee removal was a good idea. One reason was even though Major Ridge, the Cherokee who signed the Treaty of New Echota, had no legal right to sign it, they still had a Cherokee signature (Exhibit J). They said Major Ridge claimed he represented all Cherokee when he only represented about 2000 Cherokee. Another good reason for the removal was that moving would likely save the Cherokee’s culture. If they stayed, they

However, while few Indian tribes went peacefully, majority of the tribes resisted the removal policy. Additionally, government agents were authorized to negotiate and enforce treaties. Therefore, during the fall and winter of 1838 and 1839, the Cherokee natives were removed forcibly to the west by the government. As a

Gold was discovered near Cherokee territory in Georgia. As result, Georgia desired to remove the Cherokees and relocate the Cherokees to lands west of the Mississippi river. This struck a major debate. Andrew Jackson was known to support the removal of Native Americans, so the state of Georgia took advantage of the scenario. With little difficulty, the Indian Removal Act was passed in 1830. The Cherokees did not relocate without a civilized fight. They sent several documents to Congress to argue their case. These documents included three arguments to support the sovereignty of the Cherokee nation. These three arguments were Great Britain saw the Cherokees as separated nation from the Colonists, George Washington saw them as an independent nation, and the Cherokees had the same natural rights as the United States.

The government attempted to uphold relations with the Indians on the condition that they establish themselves in the beliefs and values of the United States people (Jackson, First Annual Message to Congress, 2). They wanted the Indians to be of the Christian faith and to learn their practices, such as their agricultural lifestyle and techniques, to help civilize and assimilate the Indian people. This really just rooted the settler’s supremacist temperament into place. The Supreme Court did back the Indians temporarily in the Worcester v. Georgia trial, in which the United States Supreme Court held that “the Cherokee Indians constituted a nation holding distinct sovereign powers” (Garrison, Worcester v. Georgia, 1). While it seemed a concerted effort, it eventually led to the forced signing of the Cherokee people at the “Cherokee capital of New Echota”, and furthermore, to the Trail of Tears and the downfall of the Indian nation (Garrison, Worcester v. Georgia, 1). The Americans ultimately made a frail attempt at civil dealings with the Indian people and their tribes, but when the Indians refused, the government used unnecessary force and aggression to get what they

Until 1828, the federal government agreed that Cherokee had rights to their land, but when Andrew Jackson was elected President, that all ended. Jackson refused to believe that the tribes were sovereign and thus viewed Indian treaties, as an absurdity

They were bent on acquiring the valuable lands occupied by the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Indians. After the Louisiana purchase (an enormous acquisition of land west of the Mississippi in 1803), President Jefferson presumed that these Indians could be persuaded to give up their homes in exchange for land further west. Following Jefferson's lead, President Andrew Jackson pushed for the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The act provided funds for the United States government to negotiate removal treaties with the Indians. The federal government forced tribal leaders to sign these treaties. Factions arose within the tribes, as many opposed giving up their land. Cherokee Principal Chief John Ross even traveled to Washington to negotiate alternatives to removal and pleaded for the government to redress the injustices of these treaties. The United States government listened, but did not deviate from its policy. Although President Jackson negotiated the removal treaties, President Martin Van Buren enforced them. The impact of the removal was first felt by the

Since international law said that England had discovered the American colonies, they therefore owned all of the land. That meant that the natives or "uncivilized" people no longer owned the land. This group of the "uncivilized" consisted of many Indian tribes which were forced out of their homeland, including the Cherokee.

The Indian Removal policy started by Andrew Jackson and passed in 1830. In 1790s the Georgia legislature planed a lottery system, that was system of land distribution and qualifying citizens could register for a chance to win these lands. United States could not force tribal leaders to sell their lands and many of leaders refused to sell their lands. However, in 1827s Resolution of Georgia General Assembly declared that under constitution, the federal government had no

     In Georgia, the Cherokee Indians had developed a lifestyle that included schools, mills, and turnpikes. In the 1820's, under pressure from the state to give up their lands, they wrote a constitution, hired lawyers, and sued in the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Marshall upheld the rights of the Cherokee against Georgia. However, Jackson refused to carry out the decision that ordered Georgia to return Cherokee lands. He is quoted as to have said, "Marshall has made his opinion, now let him enforce it."

In 1831, the Cherokee nation went to court against the state of Georgia. They were disputing the state’s attempt to hold jurisdiction over their territory. Unfortunately, because they are not under the laws of the constitution, the Indian’s right to court was denied. It was not until 1835 that the Cherokee finally agreed to sign the treaty, giving up their Georgia land for that of Oklahoma.

Jackson believed that Indian sovereignty threatened the nation. For example, the Cherokee Nation attempted to establish an independent government in Georgia and Alabama. Jackson saw this as a complete violation of the Constitution's statement that "no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State (Norton Mix, 140)." In addition, Jackson claimed that if the Natives remained in the country, this would result in nonstop warfare, which would lead to the inevitable desecration of the remaining tribes. He then argues that the nation's sense of "humanity and national honor demand that every effort should be made to avert so great a calamity (Norton Mix, 141)." By stating this argument, Jackson takes on a sympathetic approach, in an attempt to justify the removal of the Indian tribes to the west of the Mississippi River where they "may be secured in the enjoyment of governments of their own choice (Norton Mix, 141)." With this speech, Jackson is able to persuade a divided congress to pass the Indian Removal Act of 1830, calling for the voluntary removal of Indians from their

. . regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.” The Constitution further enumerates these powers denied to the states in Article I section x. The state of Georgia challenged the federal government’s power over states rights, a precursor to the Civil War, when it challenged the trust relationship and the autonomy of the Cherokee. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall in three decisions (Marshall Trilogy) upheld the United States’ federal power, defined the responsibility of the doctrine of federal trust, and clarified the sovereignty of Indian nations: Johnson v McIntosh 1823, Cherokee v Georgia 1831, Worcester v Georgia 1832.

However, many of the members of the tribe disagreed and continued to move away to Arkansas to escape the shites. Some Americans could not wait for any further moving of the Indians, turned up on the Indian land, and started settling. Andrew Jackson wanted all of the Indians to be removed east of the Mississippi River so when he was elected President in 1828, the Indians were in trouble. Congress passed the Indian Removal Acts in 1830, which gave the President of the United States the power to force all the Indians to relocate west of the Mississippi. If that weren't enough of a reason to have the Indians leave the territory, gold was discovered in the Cherokee area that same year. At this point, people from all over were traveling to Georgia to find some fold for themselves.