Andrew Jackson, even after multiple appeals from Cherokee National Principal Chief John Ross that the president engage Georgia’s governor and mediate on behalf of his former allies in the War of 1812, refused. He asserted that the federal government had no constitutional authority to interfere in an issue that was a state’s right. Georgia was authorized to establish laws that protected the rights of its citizens, and if that action required the removal of a “ward” group of people, then that action was appropriate in Jackson’s view.

However, many did not agree with Jackson’s interpretation of the United States Constitution and the role of the executive branch. Among those who supported the enforcement of previous treaties guaranteeing the Cherokee the right to reside on lands that had been “granted” by previous administrations was a group of white missionaries and teachers living among the Cherokee.

In Southeast Tennessee, the Brainerd Mission had been established in 1819 to provide educational and religious instruction along with teaching skills necessary for improved farming and other vocations. At the same time, an allied group of missionaries was living among the Cherokee in Northwest Georgia, the area where the principal chief now resided. The Georgia missionaries encouraged the Cherokee to resist the attempted application of state law on what had historically been a self-governing nation, and Georgia officials were angered by the interference. The missionaries quickly found themselves under a threat of removal, too.

In state legislation signed by Georgia’s governor, “white persons” were forbidden the right to live on Cherokee lands unless licensed by the governor after swearing an oath of loyalty to the state. Georgia authorities arrested Samuel A. Worcester and other missionaries, obtained a conviction, and sentenced each to four years of hard labor. The missionaries felt targeted for their support of the Cherokee and, led by Worcester, decided to sue Georgia for interference with their religious practices and the state’s attempt to impose restrictions on Native American land. The case, Worcester v. Georgia, was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in March 1832, and in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Marshall, the court agreed with the Cherokee Nation and the missionaries.

Associate Justice John McLean, in a concurring opinion, agreed, writing: “History has shown that intercourse between the Indian tribes has, since the Constitution was ratified, been between the federal government and those tribes. Accordingly, Georgia’s laws are in conflict and must yield to the Constitution of the United States.”

Interesting, right? Was the Cherokee Nation saved from forced removal? We know the answer to that question is no. So, how did Georgia force the removal if Chief Justice Marshall had ruled that Georgia could not impose its laws on the Cherokee Nation?

The U.S. Supreme Court interprets the constitutionality of legislation and actions but has no enforcement power. The executive branch, i.e., the president and his attorney general, serve as the enforcement, and President Andrew Jackson simply refused to send attorneys or military troops to enforce the decision. It has been reported that Jackson said, “Justice Marshall has made his decision; let him enforce it.” Whether that quote is accurate or not, the Cherokee Nation was without support against the Georgians who were already forcing them to vacate property, joining the other 35,000 eastern Native Americans who had already been “removed.” Their lands — more than 25 million acres — could now be occupied by “voting” white citizens, and profitable crops cultivated by slave labor expanded across the South.

The U.S. military did assist in the “relocation” of the Cherokee, primarily in 1838 and 1839. Thousands died during the journey, and by 1840, most Native Americans — and many of their missionary friends who had remained with them — had been moved west of the Mississippi River. The Trail of Tears, once a footnote in history texts, has become a prime example of the inhumanity of early U.S. policy toward native peoples. As President Jackson had mentioned in his congressional message, the action was beneficial. After all, the government, in an effort to prevent annihilation, had agreed “to purchase [Cherokee] lands, to give him a new and extensive territory…” And now the Southwest Territory could be “strengthened” by white settlers.

Perception is reality.