What is Worcester V. Georgia?

Worcester v. Georgia was a Supreme
Court case that was decided in 1832.  In this case, the Court decided that the state of
Georgia had no jurisdiction over the lands belonging to the Cherokee nation.  This
decision implied that the Cherokee had to be treated as if they were a separate nation
within the United States.

This case is famous for two
reasons.  First of all, Andrew Jackson supposedly said of this that "John Marshall has
made his decision, now let him enforce it."  He didn't really say this, but he did go on
to ignore the implications of the decision.  Instead of treating the Cherokee as a
sovereign nation, he allowed them to be evicted from their lands in the Indian Removal
of the 1830s.  Second, the case set something of a precedent for the way that Native
Americans are now treated by law.  It set the stage for them to be treated as
semi-sovereign nations.