In Cherokee Nation v. State of Georgia, the Cherokee bring suit against Georgia to stop the state from applying its laws to tribe members. The suit is prompted by a series of abuses. In the most recent, Georgia executed a Cherokee convicted of murder before his case could be appealed (see entry for 1830).
The Cherokee’s case relies on the argument that they are a foreign nation and that therefore, according to the U. S. Constitution, the federal government must protect them from Georgia’s attempt to exert authority over them. However, John Marshall, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, disagrees. He holds that Indian tribes are “domestic dependent nations.” Because he does not consider the Cherokee tribe a sovereign foreign power, Marshall refuses to hear their case. Redefining Indian tribes relationship with the United States to that of “a ward to his guardian,” Marshall’s decision will have enormous implications for future federal Indian policy.
The Illinois militia destroys Black Hawk’s village.
The followers of Sac leader Black Hawk refuse to leave their village of Saukenuk near present-day Rock Island, Illinois. Their stance defies the Treaty of St. Louis (see entry for NOVEMBER 3, 1804), in which some Sac and Fox leaders relinquished their people’s claims to all lands east of the Mississippi River. The governor of Illinois sends in the militia to destroy the Indian village. Before escaping to the west bank of the Mississippi, Black Hawk is compelled to sign a pledge never to return to Saukenuk. (See also entry for APRIL TO AUGUST 1832.)
World History
