Johnson v. M'Intosh
Supreme Court of the United States Official seal of the Supreme Court of the United States File links The following pages link to this file: Marbury v. ...
Argued --- Decided March 10, 1823
Full case name: Thomas Johnson and Graham's Lessee v. William M'Intosh Citations: 21 U.S. (8 Wheat.) 543 Prior history: Appeal from the District of Illinois Subsequent history: none
Holding
Native Americans have no claim to land in the United States.
Court membership
Chief Justice Marshall Associate Justices ---
Case opinions
Majority by: Marshall Joined by: Unanimous court
Laws applied
Ius gentium.

Johnson v. M'Intosh, 21 U.S. (8 Wheat.) 543 (1823)^[1], was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Native Americans had no claim to the land that was taken from them by European conquerors. Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Seal of the Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States of America. ... Chief Quanah Parker of the Quahadi Comanche Native Americans in the United States (also Indians, American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Peoples, Aboriginal Americans, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Original Americans) are those indigenous peoples within the territory which is now encompassed by the continental United States, and their descendants in...

Facts

The plaintiff, Thomas Johnson bought land from Piankeshaw Indian tribes in 1773 and 1775. The defendant, William M'Intosh (pronounced "McIntosh") was later granted title to this same land by the United States government. Johnson sued M'Intosh for title to the land, claiming that it was his by prior purchase. The District Court of Illinois found for M'Intosh. A plaintiff, also known as a claimant, or a complainant is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an action) before a court. ... 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1775 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A defendant is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute. ...

Question presented

The Supreme Court was called upon to consider whether Native Americans had the power to give or sell land that had been "discovered" by European powers.

Opinion of the Court

The Supreme Court upheld the finding for M'Intosh, ruling that the practices of the conquering European nations recognized that Native Americans have never really been considered "owners" of the land. It was therefore the settled law of the land that Native Americans do not have the power to transfer the property which they occupy to others. The Court found the United States government to have the exclusive power to transfer title of previously undiscovered lands.

In a long and philosophical opinion, the Court suggested that the Native Americans owned the land until it was discovered by others; Native Americans had the right of occupancy (like tenants in an apartment building), but could lose occupancy by conquest or purchase. This rule, in turn, was derived from a longstanding agreement by the Western European powers, which the United States kept because it received all lands held by Britain in the treaty that ended the American War of Independence. The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war fought primarily between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen of her North American colonies. ...

Modern critics note the Court's apparent assertion of racial superiority of Europeans over Native Americans, approving the classification of the latter "as an inferior race of people, without the privileges of citizens, and under the perpetual protection and pupilage of the government." This rationale later supported decisions of the Court upholding lesser rights afforded to residents of U.S. territories in the Insular Cases. Insular Cases are several U. S. Supreme Court cases decided early in the 20th century. ...

External link

• ^ 21 U.S. 543 (Text of the opinion on Findlaw.com)
• Text of the opinion from the University of Tulsa