The court case Worcester v. Georgia before the United States Supreme Court in 1832 set two different precedents – that Indian nations hold distinct sovereign powers, and that the President (and State governments) can ignore Supreme Court rulings.
The State of Georgia wanted to move the Cherokees off
their land and give it to white settlers. A small group of missionaries, living
in the Cherokee Nation to translate the Bible into their language, also advised
them of their rights under the Constitution and federal treaties. The Georgia
government did not like this and enacted a law prohibiting white persons from
residing in the Cherokee Nation without permission of the State. Samuel
Worcester and three other missionaries were arrested and sentenced to 4 years in
prison with hard labor.
The case was appealed to the United States Supreme
Court in 1832. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote for the majority that Indian
nations were “distinct, independent political communities retaining their
original natural rights” and that although the Cherokee Nation had surrendered
sovereign powers in their treaties with the United States, it remained a separate,
sovereign nation with a legitimate title to its national territory. The ruling also
vacated (annulled) Worcestor’s conviction.
Georgia ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling, refused to
release the missionaries, and continued to pressure the federal government to
relocate the Cherokees. President Andrew Jackson sided with Georgia and said “The decision of the supreme court has fell
still born, and they find that it cannot coerce Georgia to yield to its mandate”.
This quote has since been paraphrased to “The
Chief Justice has made his decision; now let him enforce it”.
In a 2021 podcast J.D. Vance suggested that if the
courts try to stop Trump from firing every bureaucrat and civil servant and
replacing them with “our people”, he should just ignore them and “stand before the country like Andrew Jackson
did and say ‘The chief justice has made his ruling. Now let him enforce it’.”
Vance has repeated this position several times since and even argued that if
the Supreme Court tried to stop Trump from controlling the staff of his own
government, then that is the constitutional crisis, not what the President does
in response.
For reference, here are the Oaths of Office that
Donald Trump and J.D. Vance swore to on January 20.
I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office
of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability,
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and
defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and
domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take
this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion;
and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which
I am about to enter. So help me God.
By the way, the Cherokee story does not end well. The
missionaries were released and the Georgia law requiring permission for a white
person to live in their territory was rescinded. The Marshall ruling later
became one of the strongest tools for upholding Indian nations’ tribal rights. But
it didn’t help the Cherokees. The U.S. Army forced them off their land and marched
them to Indian Territory in Oklahoma on what became known as the “Trail of
Tears”.
Sources:
https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/worcester-v-georgia-1832/
The courts can find as they wish. SCOTUS will back Trump. He will ignore all lower court findings and since he controls DoJ who will stopp him? DoJ is even applealing the finding about Birth right citizenship which is in the constitution.
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