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)

make it how a 8th grader would

Answer 1

1. What was the case about?
Worcester v. Georgia (1832) was about whether the state of Georgia could make laws that controlled people living on Cherokee land. Two missionaries, Samuel Worcester and Elizur Butler, were arrested for living in Cherokee territory without a Georgia license. They argued that Georgia had no right to enforce its laws inside Cherokee lands.

2. What was the outcome of their decision?
The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Marshall, ruled in favor of Worcester. The Court said that the Cherokee Nation was a separate political community and that only the federal government (not states) could deal with Native American nations. Because of that, Georgia’s law was unconstitutional and the state had no authority to punish Worcester and Butler.

3. How did Jackson respond to the decision?
President Andrew Jackson refused to enforce the Supreme Court’s decision. He is often quoted as saying something like, “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it,” meaning he would not use federal power to stop Georgia. As a result, the ruling was ignored and Georgia kept taking actions against the Cherokee.

4. What was the effect on the Native Americans?
Even though the Court recognized the Cherokee’s right to their land, the decision was not enforced. The federal government and Georgia continued to push the Cherokee off their land. A few years later most Cherokee were forced to move west on the Trail of Tears (1838–1839), where many suffered and thousands died. So the ruling helped Native American rights in law, but it did not stop their removal in practice.