Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. 515 (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=31&page=515) (1832), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that Cherokee Indians were entitled to federal protection from the actions of state governments.

Contents

1 The bench 1.1 Opinion 1.2 Concurring opinions 1.3 Dissenting 2 The case 3 See also 4 External links

The bench

Opinion

• Written by: Chief Justice John Marshall
  • Joined by: Justices John McLean, and others

Concurring opinions

• Written by: Justice McLean

Dissenting

• Written by: Justice Henry Baldwin

The case

Worcester is considered one of the most influential decisions in the area of law applicable to American Indians. The Marshall court had previously ruled in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia that Indian tribes in the United States did not have the status of foreign nations (famously describing them as "domestic dependent nations"); here the court ruled that the Cherokee nation was a "distinct community" with self-government, "in which the laws of Georgia can have no force". This ruling established the doctrine that the national government of the United States—and not individual states—had authority in Indian affairs.

See also

• Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. 1 (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=30&page=1) (1831)

External links

• Full text of the decision courtesy of Findlaw.com (http://laws.findlaw.com/us/31/515.html)
• Article in the New Georgia Encyclopedia (http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2720)