Question

ESSAY QUESTION

Students must answer all four parts to receive full credit.

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?

(4 points)

Answer 1

1. What the case was about
Worcester v. Georgia (1832) arose after Georgia passed laws asserting state authority over Cherokee lands and requiring non-Native residents to obtain a state license. Missionary Samuel Worcester and others were arrested for living on Cherokee territory without such a license. They challenged Georgia’s conviction, and the case asked whether a state could impose its laws on a sovereign Indian nation’s land.

2. Outcome of the decision
The U.S. Supreme Court, in an opinion by Chief Justice John Marshall, ruled for Worcester and the Cherokee. The Court held that the Cherokee Nation was a distinct political community in which the laws of Georgia had no force, and that only the federal government (not states) had authority in Indian affairs. Georgia’s laws were therefore invalid as applied to Cherokee territory.

3. How Andrew Jackson responded
President Andrew Jackson did not enforce the Court’s decision. He continued to support removal policy and allowed Georgia and federal officials to proceed with removing Native Americans. (The often-quoted remark attributed to Jackson is “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it,” reflecting his refusal to act on the ruling.)

4. Effect on the Native Americans
Because the decision was not enforced, Cherokee and other southeastern tribes lost legal protection in practice. Over the following years they were forced from their lands by state and federal actions, culminating in the Trail of Tears (1838–1839) and other removals. Thousands died, tribes lost ancestral lands and sovereignty was severely undermined despite the Court’s favorable legal ruling.