Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
E39027
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia was an 1831 U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the Cherokee Nation was a "domestic dependent nation" lacking standing to sue as a foreign nation, a ruling that shaped federal Indian law and the context of Indian Removal.
Aliases (2)
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
→
federal Indian law case → |
| areaOfLaw |
constitutional law
→
federal Indian law → jurisdiction → |
| branchOfGovernmentInvolved | judicial branch of the United States → |
| chiefJustice | John Marshall → |
| citation | 30 U.S. (5 Pet.) 1 → |
| constitutionalProvisionInterpreted |
Commerce Clause
→
surface form: "Article I, Section 8, Indian Commerce Clause"
Article III of the United States Constitution → |
| context | conflict over Georgia laws extending state authority over Cherokee lands → |
| country |
United States of America
→
surface form: "United States"
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States → |
| decisionDate | 1831 → |
| describedAs | foundational case in federal Indian law → |
| dissentingJustice | Henry Baldwin → |
| effect |
established the doctrine that tribes are domestic dependent nations
→
limited the ability of Indian nations to sue states directly in the Supreme Court → |
| fullCaseName |
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
→
surface form: "The Cherokee Nation v. The State of Georgia"
|
| geographicScope | Cherokee lands within the State of Georgia → |
| historicalContext | policy of Indian Removal under President Andrew Jackson → |
| holding |
The Cherokee Nation is a domestic dependent nation
→
The Cherokee Nation is not a foreign state in the sense of the Constitution → The Supreme Court lacks original jurisdiction over the Cherokee Nation’s suit against Georgia → |
| joinedByInMajority |
Gabriel Duvall
→
John McLean → Joseph Story → Smith Thompson → |
| jurisdictionDenied | original jurisdiction as a suit by a foreign state → |
| languageUsedByCourt | “domestic dependent nations” to describe Indian tribes → |
| legalIssue |
standing of an Indian nation to sue in the Supreme Court as a foreign state
→
status of Indian tribes under the U.S. Constitution → |
| majorityOpinionBy | John Marshall → |
| partyTypeCharacterization |
domestic dependent nation
→
ward of the United States → |
| petitioner |
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
→
surface form: "Cherokee Nation"
|
| relatedTo |
Indian Removal
→
Johnson v. M’Intosh → Marshall Trilogy → Trail of Tears → Worcester v. Georgia → |
| remedySought | injunction to prevent enforcement of Georgia laws in Cherokee territory → |
| respondent |
U.S. state of Georgia
→
surface form: "State of Georgia"
|
| result | case dismissed for lack of jurisdiction → |
| subsequentInfluence |
cited in later Supreme Court cases on tribal sovereignty
→
shaped federal–tribal trust relationship doctrine → |
| timePeriod | 19th century → |
| yearArgued | 1831 → |
Referenced by (5)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form: "The Cherokee Nation v. The State of Georgia"
this entity surface form: "Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)"