the federal government to the state of Georgia which afterwards refused torecognize either the Cherokee Nation or its land claims. By 1822 Georgia was pressingCongress to end Cherokee title within its boundaries. $30,000 was eventually appropriatedas payment but refused. Then bribery was attempted but exposed, and the Cherokeeresponded with a law prescribing death for anyone selling land to whites withoutpermission. With the election of Jackson as president in 1828, the Cherokee were in serious trouble.Gold was discovered that year on Cherokee land in northern Georgia, and minersswarmed in. Indian removal to west of the Mississippi had been suggested as early as 1802by Thomas Jefferson and recommended by James Monroe in his final address to Congressin 1825. With Jackson's full support, the Indian Removal Act was introduced in Congressin 1829. There it met serious opposition from Senators Daniel Webster and Henry Claywho were able to delay passage until 1830. Meanwhile, Jackson refused to enforce thetreaties which protected the Cherokee homeland from encroachment. During the twoyears following his election, Georgia unilaterally extended its laws to Cherokee territory,dividing up Cherokee lands by lottery, and stripping the Cherokee of legal protection.Georgia citizens were free to kill, burn, and steal. With the only alternative a war whichwould result in annihilation, John Ross decided to fight for his people's rights in the UnitedStates courts. The Cherokee won both cases brought before the Supreme Court: Cherokee Nation vsGeorgia (1831) and Worcester vs Georgia(1832), but the legal victories were useless.Jackson's answer: "Justice Marshall has made his decision. Let him enforce it." Withoutfederal interference, Georgia and Tennessee began a reign of terror using arrest, murderand arson against the Cherokee. Ross was arrested, and the offices of the CherokeePhoenix burned in May, 1834. The mansion of the wealthiest Cherokee, Joseph Van...
