The forced the cherokee, chickasaw, choctaw, creek and seminole to abandon their homes and lands (guaranteed to them by u. s. treaties) and move west to "indian territory". each of tribes had factions that resisted removal to some extent, but the cherokee appealed to the court system. when president jackson refused to accept the ruling of the courts and proceeded with the cherokee removal, their journey became known as. over 25% of their people died on the journey to indian territory for lack of sufficient food, clothing and transportation.

Their journey became known as the "Trail of Tears."

In the court case, Worcester v. Georgia (1852), Samuel Worcester was a Christian minister working among the Cherokee and was supportive of the Cherokee cause. To block the activity of a man like Rev. Worcester, the state of Georgia passed a law prohibiting white persons to live within the Cherokee Nation territory without permission from the Georgia state government. Worcester and other missionaries challenged this law, and the case rose to the level of a Supreme Court decision. The decision by the Supreme Court, written by Chief Justice Marshall, struck down the Georgia law and reprimanded Georgia for interfering in the affairs of the Cherokee Nation. Marshall wrote that Indian nations are "distinct, independent political communities retaining their original natural rights."

President Andrew Jackson chose not to enforce the court's decision. He said at the time: "The decision of the Supreme Court has fell stillborn, and they find that it cannot coerce Georgia to yield to its mandate." He told the Cherokee that they would need to operate under the jurisdiction of the state of Georgia or else relocate. This was a step in the direction of what became known as the "Trail of Tears," when the Cherokee were removed from Georgia and moved to territory in Oklahoma.