### **Historical Fact-Check: U.S. Indian Removal Policy (1830s–1850s)**

#### **1. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 and President Andrew Jackson’s Role**
- **Indian Removal Act (1830)**: Passed by Congress on May 28, 1830, under President Andrew Jackson, this law authorized the forced relocation of Native American tribes east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the Mississippi, primarily in the present-day Oklahoma territory.
- **Jackson’s Role**:
  - Jackson strongly supported removal, arguing it was necessary for U.S. expansion and economic development.
  - He believed treaties with tribes were invalid if they did not comply with federal law.
  - He pressured the U.S. government to enforce removal, despite opposition from some officials and courts.
  - He signed the act into law despite opposition from figures like Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, who ruled in *Worcester v. Georgia* (1832) that Georgia’s laws overrode tribal sovereignty.

#### **2. *Worcester v. Georgia* (1832), Treaty of New Echota, and Cherokee Opposition**
- **Worcester v. Georgia (1832)**: The Supreme Court ruled that Georgia’s laws did not apply within Cherokee territory, affirming tribal sovereignty. Jackson ignored this ruling, arguing that the Court had no jurisdiction over Indian affairs.
- **Treaty of New Echota (1835)**: A small faction of Cherokee leaders