Worcester v. Georgia

In the 1830s the Cherokee of north Georgia had settled on a strategy of using litigation to establish and enforce rights that had been given to them by treaties with the United States.  Samuel Worcester, a missionary to the tribe from Vermont, helped to come up with this approach. And they won their case at the U. S. Supreme Court, which said they were a sovereign nation within Georgia.  But that didn't matter because both Georgia and the President of the United States ignored that decision, which set the stage for the Trail of Tears.   Today we tell that story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Amazon Music, IHeart Radio and more. Thanks for listening.