SIGNIFICANCE  It constituted a striking departure from the Supreme Court earlier treatments involving Native Americans.

WORCESTER V. GEORGIA 1832

WORCESTER VS. GEORGIA  In the court case of Worcester vs. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court held in 1832 that the Cherokee Indians constituted a nation holding district sovereign powers.  It did not protect the Cherokees from being removed from ancestral homeland in the Southeast.

THE CHEROKEES  In the 1820s and 1830s, Georgia led a campaign to remove the Cherokees, who had territory within the borders of Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee.  The Cherokees then established a constitutional government in  They weren’t just reconstructing their government but declaring to the American public that they were a sovereign nation that could not be removed without their consent.

SAMUEL WORCESTER  A Vermont citizen who traveled to the Cherokee nation to pursue his missionary calling.  However, him and six other white peoples were arrested by Georgia officials and removed from the tribal lands.  They were charged for residing without a license or permit and without taking the oath to support and defend the constitution and the laws of Georgia.

CONTI.  Worcester defended himself saying he was preaching to the Gospel under the authority of the President of the United States and granted permission from the Cherokee Nation.  He contended that Georgia had no jurisdiction since the U.S. recognized the Cherokee has a sovereign nation.  The Court disagreed and found him and the others guilty and sentenced them to 4 years of hard labor in prison.

 Cherokee cited treaties with the federal government.  John Marshall agreed with the Cherokee – said Georgia laws regarding the Cherokee were unconstitutional. Cherokee a distinct community with their own laws. Georgia can’t force them to do anything or enter their land without their permission.  Georgia and Jackson ignored this.