Age of Jackson
Dig Deeper: Was this legal?
Under the U.S. law, Congress passes laws, the Supreme Court interprets laws, and the President enforces laws. Therefore It was up to President Andrew Jackson to enforce the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jackson knew that it was not the Supreme Court’s job to enforce the ruling. This was Jackson’s way of telling the court that he wasn’t going to enforce their ruling.
There was not much the Supreme Court could do. It is Congress’s job to punish a president for not doing his job, by removing him from office. This is done through the impeachment process. Congress could have impeached Jackson. In reality, Congress did not want or did not have the will to confront Jackson over this issue. So nothing was done.Age of Jackson >> Tennessee's People >> Indians >> Removal
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