The Cherokee Nation refused to leave their lands. They even got the United States Supreme Court to rule that they were sovereign and did not have to follow the laws of the United States. Jackson simply ignored this ruling. In 1835, he got a small group of Cherokee to sign a treaty agreeing to leave their lands. The rest of the Cherokee Nation tried to keep their lands. However, in 1838, the United States Army and the Georgia militia forced them to leave their lands. On what is known as the "Trail of Tears," about 15,000 Cherokee were forced to walk over 2,000 miles to Oklahoma. About 4,000 died along the way.