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What did the Supreme Court decide in Worcester v. Georgia?

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Map of the southeastern United States showing the historical locations of various Indigenous peoples, with tribal names such as Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, Natchez, Catawba, and Calusa labeled across the region. A red outline marks the general boundary of the Southeast cultural area, extending from eastern Texas and Louisiana through the Gulf Coast, up to the Atlantic coast and into parts of the Carolinas and Virginia. Major bodies of water like the Gulf of Mexico and the Atla
Indigenous peoples of the American Southeast

In the landmark 1832 case Worcester v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5–1 that individual states lacked the authority to impose regulations on Native American land.1

Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the Cherokee Nation was a "distinct, independent political community" and that the laws of Georgia had no force within its territory. The Court held that the U.S. Constitution vested the power to regulate relations with Native American tribes exclusively in the federal government, rendering Georgia's state laws regarding the Cherokee unconstitutional and void.1

Despite this ruling, President Andrew Jackson refused to enforce the decision, and Georgia continued to ignore the Court's authority. This failure to uphold the rule of law led to the tragic Trail of Tears, during which thousands of Cherokee were forcibly removed from their lands. Nevertheless, the case remains a foundational precedent for the political autonomy of Indigenous peoples in the United States.1