Supreme Court Cases

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Supreme Court Cases

• Jackson and the Native Americans

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Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)Situation

• In 1824, President Monroe proposed that all
  Native Americans be moved west of the Mississippi
  River.
• (Why? 3 items)
• Though the Cherokee had adopted government
  systems and cultural practices similar to whites,
  they still faced the pressure of removal.
• (Georgia)

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Situation Continued

• Andrew Jackson had a reputation as an Indian
  fighter.
• War of 1812
• Inaugural address
• Removal Act of 1830
• (What was it?)

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Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)Major Question

• Question Was the treaty held by the Cherokee
  Nation legally valid did they have a right to
  the lands they possessed?

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Court Ruling

• John Marshall ruled
• Native Americans had no real standing in court
  since they were not a state or a foreign country
• Marshall wrote that the Cherokees constituted a
  "domestic, dependent nation" that existed under
  the guardianship of the United States.
• Marshall affirmed that the Cherokee had the right
  to the lands they possessed.

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Worcester v. Georgia (1832)People Involved

• Chief Justice John Marshall
• Samuel Worcester
• Was a minister affiliated with the American Board
  of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM).
• Worked to translate the Bible and other materials
  into the Cherokee language.
• Often advised Cherokee leaders about their
  political and legal rights under the Constitution
  and federal-Cherokee treaties.
• State of Georgia

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Worcester v. Georgia (1832)Facts of the Case

• Georgia passes a law
• Worcester protests
• Worcesters argument
• Worcester was convicted by the Georgia state
  supreme court and sentenced to "hard labour in
  the penitentiary for four years."

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Major Question

• Question Does the state of Georgia have the
  authority to regulate the intercourse between
  citizens of its state and members of the Cherokee
  Nation?

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Worcester v. Georgia (1832) Major Question

• Question Does the state of Georgia have the
  authority to regulate the intercourse between
  citizens of its state and members of the Cherokee
  Nation?

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Court Ruling

• John Marshall ruled
• No.
• The Georgia act violated the Constitution,
  treaties, and laws of the United States.
• Marshall noted that the "treaties and laws of the
  United States contemplate the Indian territory as
  completely separated from that of the states and
  provide that all intercourse with them shall be
  carried on exclusively by the government of the
  union,"
• Marshall argued, "The Cherokee nation, then, is a
  distinct community occupying its own territory in
  which the laws of Georgia can have no force. The
  whole intercourse between the United States and
  this nation, is, by our constitution and laws,
  vested in the government of the United States."
• The Georgia act thus interfered with the federal
  government's authority and was unconstitutional.

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Implications of Cherokee Nation cases

• The Constitution states that it is the job of the
  executive branch to enforce the laws or decisions
  of the other two branches.
• Jackson declined to take action to enforce this
  decision.

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