In 1831, the Cherokee Nation brought a case against the state of Georgia to the Supreme Court. They argued that as a separate foreign nation, certain Georgia laws overstepped their jurisdiction and wrongfully stripped Cherokees of their rights. The Justice Marshall ruled against this claim, stating that the Cherokee Nation was actually a dependent nation. In the aftermath of this trial, the Cherokees faced expulsion from their land on “The Trail of Tears,” making this a significant stage of America’s dark history of mistreating its indigenous peoples.
