The Marshall Law : Johnson Vs. Marshall Laws

Current American society is constantly affected by events from the past, but sometimes what society thinks is in the past is not so far behind. The way Native Americans were treated historically continually plays a part in current American society. Due to the racism and stereotypes carried throughout society the Native American cultural circle is constantly under fire.

Native Americans have been forced out of their culture over time, forced into assimilation, lost their rights, and have lost their land due to policies and laws by the whites that can’t bear the Native American way of life. There used to be many Native American tribes all throughout North America, and now these tribes are spread across the country and are blended into the rest of the population. The native ways have changed drastically in the last two centuries due to relocation programs, Indian boarding schools, and the way to classify which tribe each person belongs to. Native Americans have endured so much pain, which results from everything they have lost over time, and they have constantly paid the price for their ethnicity.

“Native Americans have faced centuries of atrocities to their people, their land, and their culture - all under various presidents who took an oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States” (Markwayne Mullin). Native Americans have been living a hard life ever since Columbus arrived in North America but, we need to change that. Native American have been living here before any of us, and we’re just living in their land. Native Americans have struggled since white people first arrived in North America. Some contemporary issues Native Americans face are their ability to prosecute crimes such as rapes against their community, as well as land rights, and the ability to be recognized by the government. It is important that we, as a country, address these issues.

Native Americans have been through a lot in America. They were the first ones here and they still are here. But the problem is that Native Americans are still treated with disrespect. There are still a lot of prejudice and racism against the Native Americans. I believe that if a race could survive after all the wars and disease that the Native

Since the arrival of the Europeans in 1492 the Native American has systematically been dehumanized, decivilized and redefined into terms that typify a subordinate or minority role, restricted life opportunities persist today as a result.

The Marshall Trilogy is a term used to describe the three federal court cases that are the basis of federal Indian Law. John Marshall was the Chief of Justice during this time and he played a significant role in these cases. John Marshall and other justices believed that Native American tribes should be allowed to retain their independent “nations” status, and only the Federal Government would have the power to relate with them.

The Market Revolution adversely affected the liberty of Native Americans residing within the United States because they were seen as an obstacle to the country’s economic progress. As the Market Revolution ideas of commerce and expansion took hold in the minds of the people, these white citizens shared the view that Native Americans were hindering the goal of expansion. The citizens believed it was their God-sanctioned right to settle the West (Manifest Destiny) and the Native Americans stood in the way. Conflicts with Native Americans have existed in America since the first settlers, but with the increased emphasis on commerce and development brought by the Market Revolution, the relations worsened. In 1823, during the case of Johnson v M’Intosh, the Supreme Court claimed that Native Americans only had the “right of occupancy” on their land, and that they did not own it. In 1830, under Jackson’s administration, the Indian Removal Act was created which tried to move the 5 Civilized Tribes out of their lands.

     In Georgia, the Cherokee Indians had developed a lifestyle that included schools, mills, and turnpikes. In the 1820's, under pressure from the state to give up their lands, they wrote a constitution, hired lawyers, and sued in the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Marshall upheld the rights of the Cherokee against Georgia. However, Jackson refused to carry out the decision that ordered Georgia to return Cherokee lands. He is quoted as to have said, "Marshall has made his opinion, now let him enforce it."

The Market Revolution adversely affected the liberty of Native Americans residing within the United States because they were seen as an obstacle to the country’s economic progress. As the Market Revolution ideas of commerce and expansion took hold in the minds of the people, these white citizens shared the view that Native Americans were hindering the goal of expansion. It was the United State’s God-ordained right to occupy and settle the land westward (Manifest Destiny), and the Native Americans were in the way. The conflicts with Native Americans has existed in America since the first settlers, but with the increased emphasis on commerce and development brought by the Market Revolution, the relations worsened. In 1823, during the case of Johnson v M’Intosh, the Supreme Court claimed that Native Americans only had the “right of occupancy” on their land, and that they did not own it. In 1830, under Jackson’s administration, the Indian Removal Act was created which tried to move the 5 Civilized Tribes out of their lands. Finally, in the Trail of Tears during 1838-1839, 18,000 Cherokee men, women, and children were forcibly removed from their lands and relocated to Oklahoma by federal soldiers. Soon

In 1814, an attack led by Andrew Jackson against the Creek Indians in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend ended with the indians being soundly defeated by his army and destroying any military power that the Creek Indians had. With no military power to back them up the indians were forced into several unfair treaties, including one that surrendered over 20 million acres of their land to the United States. Jackson didn’t just stop with the Creek Indians, this happened to several tribes in the United States, and played a huge part in what was known as the Indian Removal Campaign. The campaign included attacks, treaties, and petitions for removal. Wanting the indians off of their land and placed out west was justified by the reason that many people believed that there was gold on the indians’ land and wanted to claim it as their own. Also, farmers desired the land to increase their profit and area to plant. Forcing the Native Americans onto reservations seemed like the easy solution to their problems. Although some congressmen disagreed with the displacement of the indians, when Jackson was elected as the President of the United States in 1829 things became a done deal. In 1830, Andrew Jackson issued the Indian Removal Act to move all Native American tribes from their homes and send them west of the Mississippi River onto reservations. Several

The Marshall Trilogy describes Chief Justice John Marshall's rulings between 1823 and 1832. Three key Native rights decisions mark Marshall's tenure on the Supreme Court: Johnson and Graham's Lessee v. McIntosh (1823), Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831), and Worcester v. Georgia (1832). These decisions defined rights of territoriality, and the relationships between the Native groups and the state and federal governments as well. In the Johnson v. McIntosh (1823) case, the Court brought into question the Europeans traditional practice of claiming lands by the right of discovery if they were unoccupied by Christians. The decision reached by the court was that Europeans had the right to intrude peacefully into indigenous lands, but that Native peoples maintained their right to the occupation of their land. Indian rights, Marshall asserted, were not extinguished by European discovery, but merely "impaired." The consequences of this decision were to diminish Native groups' vested rights in their lands in exchange for recognition of some sort of political sovereignty, undefined legally or constitutionally by that

One of the most profound impacts of the Marshall Court was in its emphasis on the Supreme Court's power in Marbury v. Madison.

In 1968 the Supreme Court case Menominee v. US aided the cause in ruling that states could not interfere with hunting and fishing rights on the Indians’ land which had been secured in previous treaties. In addition, settlements were made in the 1970s that paid damages to tribes whose land had been illegally seized by whites. However, there were still other issues that needed to be solved during this time.

Native Americans were the people of the land before English settlers claimed the United States as it is today. Throughout time they have been mistreated by white people and forced to be Americanized. Their culture has almost died with their people, and to this day their rights can be challenged as unjustified. Before the 1960’s, Native Americans were pretty much ignored by other groups of ethnicity, especially the whites. However, postwar of Vietnam sparked the American youth to protest politics, and Native Americans stood up for their civil rights as American people.

Native Americans have played an important role in the United States for over thousands of years. The Native Americans once lived on their land with little disturbance, having made their own meals and lived in a traditional culture up until Columbus had discovered their land. From their first arrival into the Native land, the Spanish mistreated and disrespected the Indians by trying to enforce their way of life and their beliefs upon them.