The US Supreme Court ruling in Worcester v. Georgia (1832) is one of the most important decisions in the history of American jurisprudence.
The question concerned the Cherokee Indians, and their removal from the lands of the state of Georgia. The Indians lived quietly in their lands thanks to ancient peace treaties carried out in 1791 with the United States. They had their own laws and a state of their own.
But in 1828 gold was discovered in their possessions and Georgia took advantage of the opportunity to declare all previous agreements void to recover valuable lands and goods contained in them. The Indians then resorted with the help of missionary Samuel Austin Worcester who was under heavy pressure from the governor George Rockingham Gilmer.
The Supreme Court declared the unconstitutionality of Georgia's state law, as only the federal government could legislate on the Cherokee issue.