Cherokee Cases

Cherokee Cases, collective name of two companion cases of the 1830s: Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 5 Pet. (30 U.S.) 1 (1831), argued 5 Mar. 1831, decided 18 Mar. 1831 by vote of 4 to 2; Marshall for the Court, Johnson and Baldwin concurring, Thompson in dissent; and Worcester v. Georgia, 6 Pet. (31 U.S.) 515 (1832), argued 20 Feb. 1832, decided 3 Mar. 1832 by vote of 5 to 1; Marshall for the Court, Baldwin in dissent. The Cherokee Cases evolved out of attempts by Georgia to assert jurisdiction over Cherokee lands within the state that were protected by treaty. In Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, Chief Justice John Marshall held that the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to hear a Cherokee request to enjoin Georgia's effort. He defined the Cherokee people as a “domestic, dependent nation,” rather than a sovereign nation for Article III purposes, and as wards of the federal government (p. 2).

The Court modified Cherokee Nation one year later in Worcester v. Georgia. A Congregational missionary had been convicted of failure to secure a license Georgia required to live in Cherokee country. The Court held the Georgia laws void because they violated treaties, the contract and commerce clauses of the Constitution, and the sovereign authority of the Cherokee Nation. Georgia refused to acknowledge the proceeding.

Marshall no longer considered the Cherokee Nation case controlling, although he did not overrule it. Instead, he emphasized the concept of “nation,” as opposed to “domestic” or “dependent.” He held that Indian nations were a distinct people with the right to retain independent political communities. President Andrew Jackson, however, refused to enforce the Court's ruling and supported the removal of the Cherokees to Indian Territory. Many Cherokees perished during their exodus, known as the “Trail of Tears.”

See also Judicial Power and Jurisdiction; Native Americans; Race and Racism; State Sovereignty and States' Rights.

John R. Wunder