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1831 Cherokee Nation v. Georgia

Anna Kurianowicz

Bibliography

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/antebellum/landmark_cherokee.html

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr050.html

http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1826-1850/marshall-cases-cherokee-nation-v-state-of-georgia-1831.php

http://kids.laws.com/cherokee-nation-v-georgia

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6481524100903611909&q=1831+Cherokee+Nation+v.+Georgia&hl=en&as_sdt=6,33&as_vis=1

Results:

After failed negotiations with President Andrew Jackson and Congress, the Cherokee, under the leadership of John Ross, sought an injunction at the Supreme Court against Georgia to prevent its carrying out these laws.

The Court, in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case and could not resolve it. The Court began by sympathizing with the Cherokees' plight, acknowledging that they had been persecuted and marginalized by America's European settlers. They viewed the Cherokee Nation as a somewhat independent nation, which the people were dependent on. Therefore, the Court asserted that "foreign nations," as used in the Constitution, could not include "Indian nations." Because the Constitution only authorizes the Supreme Court to hear cases brought by "foreign nations," not "Indian nations," the Court was not authorized to entertain this case and dismissed it.

In 1831 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokee Indian Nation was not a foreign nation and therefore ruled that the Supreme Court did not have jurisdiction. The result was that the Cherokee Nation's land cessions were allowed to stand, and they were denied the right to sue in federal court to prevent their removal from tribal lands. Associate Justice Smith Thompson wrote a dissenting opinion upholding the claims of the Cherokee Nation. This manuscript is Justice Thompson's retained copy of his dissenting opinion.

The Case:

In 1828, the state of Georgia passed a series of laws

stripping local Cherokee Indians of their rights. The laws

also authorized Cherokee removal from lands sought after by

the state. In defense, the Cherokee cited treaties that they had

negotiated, as an independent "nation," with the United States,

guaranteeing the Cherokee nation both the land and independence.

Although the Cherokee Nation v. Georgia case was filed, the United States Supreme Court did not evaluate the matter on its own merits. The United

States Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokee Nation did not maintain

original jurisdiction in the legal matter. The United States Supreme Court

ruled that the Cherokee Nation was a dependent nation with the United States.

Background Information:

The approximately 125,000 Native Americans, the Cherokee

making up the largest amount, who lived east of the Missisppi

(close to Tenessee and mostly Georgia) were surrounded by

white settlers who wanted the tribes resettled across the

Mississippi.

In 1820, the Cherokee tribe established a representative form of

government, similar to that of the United States, and in 1827, they

drafted a constitution, which officially incorporated the tribe as the Cherokee Nation.

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