In an essay on narcissistic leaders for the New York Times, Adam Grant writes:

In one study, 120 experts rated the American presidents on their narcissism. The top three — Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Andrew Jackson — all saw their legacies tarnished by corruption and disastrous decisions. Hubris led Jackson to defy the Supreme Court and forcibly remove Native Americans from their land. . . .

The bit about Jackson and the Supreme Court is a myth. Worcester v. Georgia, the case in question, held a state law unconstitutional. Georgia, for a time, defied the ruling. But the Court did not order or ask Jackson, or the federal government, to do anything. Jackson’s supposed comment about the chief justice — “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!” — did not appear until 20 years after the president’s death, according to Wikipedia. While Georgia was defying the Court, Jackson did, however, write a letter including the statement “the decision of the Supreme Court has fell still born, and they find that they cannot coerce Georgia to yield to its mandate.”

The removal of Native Americans, meanwhile, proceeded under the Indian Removal Act, which was not at issue in the case. The Court’s decision, if anything, strengthened the argument for the constitutionality (if not the wisdom or justice) of that law: It reasoned that Georgia had attempted to exercise powers that properly belonged to the federal government.

In double-checking my memory of the case, I found that both ChatGPT and Google’s AI bought the myth. Grok was only slightly better. Wikipedia, on the other hand, got it right: “The Court did not ask federal marshals to carry out the decision. Worcester thus imposed no obligations on Jackson; there was nothing for him to enforce. . . .” Exactly.