Worcester v. Georgia
| Worcester v. Georgia | ||||
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| Negotiated February 20, 1832 |
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| Decided March 3, 1832 |
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| The plaintiffs were sentenced to four years of forced labor after failing to apply to live on the Cherokee reservation. | ||||
| decision | ||||
| The constituent states are not allowed to regulate relations with indigenous peoples. The federal government is solely responsible for this. | ||||
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| Applied Law | ||||
| US Const. art. I. |
The Worcester v. Georgia is a decision of the United States Supreme Court dating from 1832. It is one of its most important decisions, as it is the first time that the court is dealing with the legal status of indigenous peoples within the United States.
backgrounds
According to a law of the State of Georgia were all white men in the tribal area of Cherokee wanted to live -Indianer obliged to apply for a permit for this. The plaintiffs, seven missionaries including Samuel Austin Worcester and Elizur Butler, refused to make such a request. The two named were known for their support of the Indians in the fight against resettlement , and the authorities had indicated that an application by the two to be allowed to live on the reservation would be denied. Eventually, the plaintiffs were sentenced to four years of forced labor. They appealed against this to the Supreme Court on the grounds that the constituent states of the United States had no competence to intervene in affairs of the indigenous peoples on their territory. This competence lies solely with the federal government.
The decision
The decision, written by John Marshall, made it clear that the relationship between the indigenous peoples and the United States is one of two different nations . Marshall justified this with the fact that the government of the United States took over the rights of Great Britain after the end of the War of Independence . These rights, according to Marshall, are limited to maintaining relations with the indigenous peoples, to the exclusion of any other state's influence. However, there is neither a right of ownership of the land of the indigenous people nor the right to rule over them. Marshall acknowledged that such a right to rule could arise through conquering or buying land. However, this must then be exercised by the federal government. Since the Cherokee were a distinct group of people who managed their own affairs, the court concluded that the federal government alone was responsible for regulating relations with the Cherokee.
Reactions
In response to the decision, President Andrew Jackson is credited with the quotation “John Marshall made his decision. Let him enforce it himself! ”However, such a statement never came about. The decision set a precedent for subsequent cases involving indigenous peoples . Fearing a power struggle between the judiciary and the executive , the court decided not to allow the United States Marshals Service to enforce the decision . So President Jackson was given the opportunity not to have to carry out the decision and thus avoid a political conflict. Despite their victory, Worcester and Butler remained in custody until 1833. It was only after the new governor Wilson Lumpkin took office that they were pardoned on the condition that they would no longer work for the Cherokee in the future.
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul F. Boller, John H. George: They Never Said It: A Book of False Quotes, Misquotes, & False Attributions . Oxford University Press, New York, NY 1989, p. 53.
- ^ Ronald A. Berutti: The Cherokee Cases: The Fight to Save the Supreme Court and the Cherokee Indians . In: American Indian Law Review . 17, 1992, p. 291. At pp. 305-306.
further reading
- Joseph C. Burke: The Cherokee Cases: A Study in Law, Politics, and Morality . In: Stanford Law Review . 21, 1969, p. 500. doi : 10.2307 / 1227621 .
- Francis Paul Prucha: The Great Father: The United States Government and the American Indians , Volume I. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln 1984, ISBN 0803236689 .
- Jean Edward Smith : John Marshall: Definer Of A Nation . Henry Holt & Company, New York 1996, ISBN 080501389X .