Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. 1 (1831), was a United States Supreme Court decision.
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Background
Indian removal was a major national issue in 1830, the year of the passage of the Indian Removal Act which enabled treaties to be negotiated to move American Indian tribes from their native lands.
In 1830, Georgia passed a law which prohibited whites from living on Indian territory after March 31, 1831 without a license from the state. This law was written to justify removing white missionaries who were helping the Indians resist removal. Indian removal opponent Jeremiah Evarts urged the Cherokee nation to take their case to the Supreme Court.
The bench
Opinion
- Written by: Chief Justice John Marshall
- Joined by: Justices William Johnson, Henry Baldwin, and others
Concurring opinions
- Written by: Justice Johnson
- Written by: Justice Baldwin
Dissenting
- Written by: Justice Smith Thompson
- Joined by: Justice Joseph Story
The case
In 1830, the Cherokee nation asked for an injunction, claiming that Georgia's state legislature had created laws which, "go directly to annihilate the Cherokees as a political society". The injunction was denied, on the grounds that the Cherokee people, not being a state, and claiming to be independent of the United States, were a domestic dependent nation, over which the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction.
See also
- Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. 515 (1832)
External links