In the state of Georgia, the population increased 600 percent in the matter of 40 years. As a result, many of its native tribes were pushed out. The Cherokee Indians, of western Georgia, had managed to keep their land until gold was discovered in their territory in 1828. In 1830, however, President Andrew Jackson authorized the Indian Removal Act. The Cherokees fought the law, and it was overturned by Chief Justice John Marshall two years later.