Worcester v. Georgia

Definition

Worcester v. Georgia was a Supreme Court case in 1832 that established tribal sovereignty in the United States, stating that laws passed by U.S. states do not apply within Native American tribal territories.

Related terms

Indian Removal Act: An act signed into law in 1830 by President Andrew Jackson that authorized him to grant unsettled lands west of Mississippi River in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders.

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia: A Supreme Court case prior to Worcester v. Georgia which ruled that Cherokee Nation was not a foreign nation with right to sue in federal court.

Trail of Tears: The forced relocation during 1838-39 of Eastern Woodlands Indians from their ancestral homelands in southeastern U.S., resulting in thousands dying from disease, starvation and exposure.