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Major Ridge and Elias Boudinot, who had been the main instrumentalities in bringing it about, turned against it, and voted to reject it, but the Reverend Mr. Schermerhorn, who evidently was able to see a "soul of good in things evil," in his report on the failure of the negotiations, piously submitted this:

"You will perceive Ridge and his friends have taken apparently a strange course. I believe he began to be discouraged in contending with the power of Ross; and perhaps, also, considerations of personal safety have had their influence, but the Lord is able to overrule all things for good."

CHAPTER 13.

Cherokees Two Decisions of the Supreme Court United States-Cherokee Nation vs. State of Georgia-The State of Georgia

vs. Samuel A. Worcester.

Out of the aggressions of the State of Georgia backed up by the United States, on the Cherokees in Georgia, there arose two decisions of the United States Supreme Court which in their ultimate results forced the Cherokees to surrender the long and unequal fight and depart for the Indian Territory.

One of these decisions was in the case of the Cherokee Nation vs. the State of Georgia-a case John Ross caused to be instituted to test the question of the independence and sovereignty of the Cherokee nation under their numerous treaties with the United States. Ross was far sighted enough to see that as long as the rights of the Cherokees remained political questions, and his tribe had to depend on the honor and good faith of politicians, that those rights would be in daily jeopardy, and that the only possible safety lay in a favorable decision of the United States Supreme Court.

There can be no doubt that the decision of that Court was a profound surprise to Ross, and that he expected a deliverance in accord with the oft repeated guarantees of our government. The court held that while the Cherokees were a nation, they were not a foreign nation, and, therefore, could not under the constitution bring a suit in a Federal Court. This was a most discouraging result of the Cherokee effort to have their rights declared and protected by the law of the land. The decision could not have had any other effect than to render the State of Georgia more assertive and the Cherokee outlook gloomier than ever. It was rendered in January, 1831.

The second decision was rendered one year later, in January, 1832, and arose from a criminal prosecution by the State of Georgia against Samuel A. Worcester for residing in the Cherokee Nation in violation of a statute of Georgia, and the decision

nullified the statute and declared Worcester guilty of no violation of law.

After triumphantly winning the case of the Cherokee nation. against Georgia, it is an easy surmise that the Georgia authorities were astounded at this deliverance of the Supreme Court in favor of Worcester, and that they saw that there were but two courses left to them, namely: to enforce their statute which the Supreme Court had nullified, and thereby risk war with the United States, or, in some way, bring about a new treaty with the Cherokees by which they would sell their land and leave the State. The politicians of Georgia were clearly in a dilemma. Their utterances had been loud and boisterous and bold that their State was sovereign, and that they would defend that sovereignty even to an issue of war with the government. Whether this was merely bluff we cannot tell, for they knew that Jackson was in the White House, and was on their side, and that he was not likely to turn aggressor against them.

On the other hand we cannot tell what Jackson would have done if their threats had not been bluff, and they had actually instituted war and assaulted the military forces of the United States. But, in the end, neither Georgia nor Jackson was put to the supreme test as to their course in the event the issue had been pushed to an ultimatum. For between January 1832, the date of the decision, and the assembling of the conference to draft the treaty of New Echota-à period of three years-activities were multiplied in the effort to come to an amicable agreement with the Cherokees, and so ease off a strained and dangerous situation. In ancient times all roads led to Rome, and, in the modern American time 1832-5, all roads were built to lead to New Echota. The treaty made there settled all Indian controversy.

The treaty was a corrupt piece of knavery and so it was reported to the Secretary of War by Major W. M. Davis, who had been appointed by the Federal administration to enroll the Cherokees for removal and to estimate the value of their improvements.

MAJOR W. M. DAVIS TO SECRETARY OF WAR.

"I conceive that my duty to the President, to yourself, and to my country reluctantly compels me to make a statement of facts in relation to a meeting of a small number of Cherokees at New Echota last December, who were met by Mr. Schermerhorn,

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