The Cherokee went to the Supreme Court again in 1831. This time they based their appeal on an 1830 Georgia law which prohibited whites from living on Indian territory after March 31, 1831, without a license from the state. The state legislature had written this law to justify removing white missionaries who were helping the Indians resist removal. The court this time decided in favor of the Cherokee. It stated that the Cherokee had the right to self-government, and declared Georgia's extension of state law over them to be unconstitutional. The state of Georgia refused to abide by the Court decision, however, and President Jackson refused to enforce the law.
He declared that the only hope for the Southeastern tribes' survival would be for them to give up all their land and move west of the Mississippi River. Jackson warned the tribes that if they failed to move, they would lose their independence and fall under state laws. Jackson backed an Indian removal bill in Congress.
