"John Marshall has made his decision;now let him enforce it."
Jacksons response: "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it."
Jacksons response: "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it."
In the court case Worcester v. Georgia, Marshall ruled that Jackson's Indian Removal Act was unconstitutional and that he should abolish it immediately. Jackson said, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!" and completely ignored Marshall's orders. This caused hatred between the two men.
Jackson supported Georgia's efforts to remove the Cherokee
Ah, Andrew Jackson, the original savage. When he said that line, he basically told John Marshall to go kick rocks because he wasn't going to follow the Supreme Court's ruling. Jackson was all about flexing his presidential power and didn't give a damn about checks and balances. So yeah, he basically told Marshall to enforce the ruling himself because he wasn't going to do it. Classic Jackson move.
President Andrew Jackson is often cited as a president who disobeyed a Supreme Court decision. In 1832, the Court ruled in Worcester v. Georgia that the state could not impose its laws on Native American lands. Jackson reportedly responded by refusing to enforce the ruling, famously stating, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it," highlighting the tensions between federal authority and state actions during his presidency.
In the case of Worcester v. Georgia (1832), the Supreme Court ruled that Georgia's laws did not apply to the Cherokee Nation and that the removal of Native Americans from their lands was unconstitutional. President Andrew Jackson disagreed with the ruling and famously said, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it." Jackson refused to enforce the court's decision, leading to the forced removal of Native Americans along the Trail of Tears.
President Andrew Jackson was infuriated by Chief Justice John Marshall's opinion in the Worcester v. Georgia case because it challenged his authority and the federal government's ability to enforce laws regarding Native American lands. Jackson believed that the states had the right to regulate their own affairs, including the treatment of Native Americans, and felt that Marshall's ruling undermined his policy of Indian removal. Moreover, Jackson's infamous response, "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it," indicated his defiance and refusal to accept judicial authority over executive actions. This clash highlighted the tensions between the executive and judicial branches during his presidency.
The president who famously said, "The court has made its decision; now let them enforce it," was President Andrew Jackson. This statement is often attributed to his response to the Supreme Court ruling in Worcester v. Georgia in 1832, which favored the rights of Native Americans. Jackson's remark highlighted his refusal to enforce the court's decision, reflecting the tensions between the executive branch and the judiciary during his presidency.
Andrew Jackson was against nullification, as long as it served his own purposes. Jackson became infamous for nullifying the Supreme Court decision in favor of the Cherokee nation. He is noted for saying something to the effect, "Let the Supreme Court enforce their decision."
According to popular myth, Jackson was supposed to have said, "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!" In Paul Boller's book, They Never Said It: A Book of False Quotes, Misquotes, & False Attributions, historian Robert V. Remini claims Jackson never made such a statement. The tale is based on something Jackson wrote in a letter to John Coffee, "...the decision of the Supreme Court has fell still born, and they find that they cannot coerce Georgia to yield to its mandate,"meaning the Court's opinion was moot because it had no power to enforce its edict (not being a legislative body).Case citation:Worcester v. Georgia, 31 US 515 (1832)For more information, see Related Questions, below.