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 1827.

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.