Worcester v. Georgia (Cherokee Nation, 1832)
Case Overview
The Cherokee Nation had established treaties with the federal government granting it status as a distinct nation with its own governing authority. Georgia sought to eliminate this independence by requiring all white residents, including Christian missionaries, to obtain state permits and swear loyalty. When Samuel Worcester, a Vermont minister working with the Cherokee, refused these demands, he was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to hard labor. The Supreme Court reversed his conviction 6-1, declaring Georgia's law unconstitutional because the Cherokee Nation retained sovereignty over its territory under the treaties. Chief Justice Marshall wrote that protection of the Cherokee Nation's independence did not require surrendering their right to self-governance. Though Marshall's decision affirmed native sovereignty, the Jackson administration refused to enforce it, and within a few years the government forced thousands of Cherokee from their southeastern homelands through a brutal removal march westward.
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The Facts
Georgia passed laws extending state jurisdiction over Cherokee Nation lands and people. Samuel Worcester, a missionary, was arrested under Georgia law for residing on Cherokee territory without a license. Worcester challenged his conviction, arguing Georgia had no authority over Indian territory. The case reached the Supreme Court after Georgia courts upheld his conviction.
The Issue
• Does Georgia have authority to extend its laws over Cherokee Nation territory and people? • What is the legal status of Indian nations under the U.S. Constitution and federal law? • Can a state regulate activities within federally-recognized Indian territory?
The Rules
Congress has exclusive power to regulate commerce with Indian tribes, implying federal supremacy in Indian affairs.
Indian nations are distinct political communities with inherent sovereignty over their territory; states lack jurisdiction in Indian Country absent federal authorization.
The Application
Georgia's extension of its criminal jurisdiction to Worcester within Cherokee territory directly violated the principle that states possess no authority within Indian Country. Because the Cherokee Nation is a distinct political community with recognized sovereignty over its territory, and because federal treaties with the Nation vested exclusive regulatory authority in the federal government, Georgia's criminal statute even when applied to a non-Indian missionary could not constitutionally reach conduct occurring on Cherokee lands. The Court therefore found Georgia's conviction of Worcester void, reasoning that allowing states to enforce their laws within Indian territory would undermine the federal government's treaty obligations and the tribes' protected sovereignty.
The Conclusion
The Supreme Court, in a 6-1 decision, held that Georgia's laws were unconstitutional as applied to Cherokee territory. Chief Justice Marshall ruled that Indian nations are 'domestic dependent nations' with sovereignty over their territories, and that only the federal government, not states, could regulate Indian affairs. This established that states lack jurisdiction within Indian Country and affirmed the federal government's exclusive authority over Indian relations.
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