Worcester v. Georgia, in which the U.S. Supreme Court on March 3, 1832, held (5–1) that the states did not have the right to impose regulations on Native American land. Georgia, however, ignored the decision, keeping Worcester and the other missionaries in prison. Eventually, they were granted a pardon and were released in 1833. Pres. Andrew Jackson declined to enforce the Supreme Court’s decision, thus allowing states to enact further legislation damaging to the tribes. The U.S. government began forcing the Cherokee off their land in 1838. In what became known as the Trail of Tears, some 15,000 Cherokee were driven from their land and were marched westward on a grueling journey that caused the deaths of some 4,000 of their people.
