1832 Supreme Court Decision;
"...From the commencement of our
government Congress has passed acts to regulate trade and intercourse with the
Indians; which treat them as nations, respect their rights, and manifest a firm
purpose to afford that protection which treaties stipulate. All these acts, and
especially that of 1802, which is still in force, manifestly consider the
several Indian nations as distinct political communities, having territorial
boundaries, within which their authority is exclusive, and having a right to
all the lands within those boundaries, which is not only acknowledged, but
guaranteed by the United States. . . .
The Cherokee Nation, then, is a distinct
community, occupying its own territory, with boundaries accurately described,
in which the laws of Georgia can have no force, and which the citizens of
Georgia have no right to enter but with the assent of the Cherokees themselves
or in conformity with treaties and with the acts of Congress. The whole
intercourse between the
The act of the State of
They interfere forcibly with the relations
established between the
They are in direct hostility with treaties,
repeated in a succession of years, which mark out the boundary that separates
the Cherokee country from Georgia; guarantee to them all the land within their
boundary; solemnly pledge the faith of the United States to restrain their
citizens from trespassing on it; and recognize the pre-existing power of the nation
to govern itself.
They are in equal hostility with the acts of
Congress for regulating this intercourse, and giving effect to the treaties.
The forcible seizure and abduction of the
plaintiff, who was residing in the nation with its permission, and by authority
of the President of the
Judgement reversed."
Source:
Marshall, C. J. "