U.S Expansion Worcester vs. Georgia Indian Removal Act By: Dunya Alkaissi and Yasmeen Alsati

Worcester vs. Georgia In the 1820’s and 1830’s Georgia conducted a relentless campaign to remove the Cherokees who held borders of Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee at the time So the cherokees established a constitutional government in 1827 The Cherokees finally got to show their feelings about the U.S. Supreme court

Samuel Worcester Samuel moved to Georgia, Christian missionary, spoke Cherokee, knew how to run a printing press, advocated for the Cherokees, converted them to Christianity, and he is against the relocation He violated a law that Georgia had made requiring any whites living on Cherokee Nation territory in the state of Georgia to get a licence before they do so

Worcester vs. Georgia Samuel Worcester didn’t get a licence, he was convicted and sentenced to four years of labor and took his case to the supreme court and writing for the court was chief justice John Marshall Marshall said “That the state of Georgia had no authority to pass that affected Cherokee Nation territory, although they weren’t independent foreign nations they were distinct independent political communities who could govern themselves”

Worcester vs. Georgia The only authority they fell under the federal government which was determined by the U.S constitution. In the end the Cherokees were evicted from the state of Georgia due to the laws

Indian Removal Act There was demandment of political and military action of removing the Native Americans from the southern states in 1829. Andrew Jackson signed it into law on May 18, 1830 This act authorized the president to give money to the Indians to buy and move to the unsettled land west of the Mississippi River Only a few tribes went peacefully but most resisted The move of the Indians was to open new land for settlement by citizens of the U.S.

Indian Removal Act The 5 major tribes tribes that were affected were the “Civilised Tribes” (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole) During the Fall and Winter of 1838/1839 the Cherokees forcibly moved west by the government which caused 4,000 Cherokees to die. This march became known as the “Trail of Tears” From 1830-1840 about 60,000Native Americans were forced to migrate

Indian Removal Act Before Andrew Jackson became president he was a strong believer in Indian Removal. When he became president he worked hard to reach his goal and remove the Indians. Andrew Jackson said that the removal would greatly strengthen the southwestern Frontier and clearing Alabama and Mississippi of the Indian Population would enable the population, wealth, and power.

Resources http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Indian.html https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/indian-treaties http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/indian-removal-act.html http://www.historynet.com/indian-removal-act https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1PsSeeppw0 http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/worcester-v-georgia-1832