Buying America from the Indians: Johnson v. McIntosh and the History of Native Land Rights

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Johnson v. McIntosh established the basic principles that govern American Indian property rights to this day. In the case, more than one Anglo-American purchaser claimed title to the same land in what is now southern Illinois. The Piankeshaw Indians had deeded the land twice—once to speculators in 1775, and again, thirty years later, to the United States by treaty. The Court decided in favor of William McIntosh, who had bought the land from the U.S. government. Writing for the majority,Chief Justice John Marshall declared that the “discovery” of America had given “exclusive title to those who made it”—namely, the European colonizers. According to Johnson, the Piankeshaws did not own what they thought was their land. Indeed, no Indian tribe did.

Buying America from the Indians offers a comprehensive historical and legal overview of Native land rights since the European "discovery" of the New World. Watson sets the case in rich historical context. After tracing Anglo-American views of Native land rights to their European roots, Blake A. Watson explains how speculative ventures in Native lands affected not only Indian peoples themselves but the causes and outcomes of the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and ratification of the Articles of Confederation. He then focuses on the transactions at issue in Johnson between the Illinois and Piankeshaw Indians, who sold their homelands, and the future shareholders of the United Illinois and Wabash Land Companies.

The final chapters highlight the historical legacy of Johnson v. McIntosh on federal policy with regard to Indian lands. Taught to first-year law students as the root of title for real property in the United States, the case has also been condemned by the United Nations and others as a Eurocentric justification for the subjugation of North American indigenous peoples. Watson argues that the United States should formally repudiate the discovery doctrine set forth in Johnson v. McIntosh.

The thorough backstory andanalysis in this book will deepen our understanding of one of the most important cases in both federal Indian law and American property law.
1110927413
Buying America from the Indians: Johnson v. McIntosh and the History of Native Land Rights

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Johnson v. McIntosh established the basic principles that govern American Indian property rights to this day. In the case, more than one Anglo-American purchaser claimed title to the same land in what is now southern Illinois. The Piankeshaw Indians had deeded the land twice—once to speculators in 1775, and again, thirty years later, to the United States by treaty. The Court decided in favor of William McIntosh, who had bought the land from the U.S. government. Writing for the majority,Chief Justice John Marshall declared that the “discovery” of America had given “exclusive title to those who made it”—namely, the European colonizers. According to Johnson, the Piankeshaws did not own what they thought was their land. Indeed, no Indian tribe did.

Buying America from the Indians offers a comprehensive historical and legal overview of Native land rights since the European "discovery" of the New World. Watson sets the case in rich historical context. After tracing Anglo-American views of Native land rights to their European roots, Blake A. Watson explains how speculative ventures in Native lands affected not only Indian peoples themselves but the causes and outcomes of the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and ratification of the Articles of Confederation. He then focuses on the transactions at issue in Johnson between the Illinois and Piankeshaw Indians, who sold their homelands, and the future shareholders of the United Illinois and Wabash Land Companies.

The final chapters highlight the historical legacy of Johnson v. McIntosh on federal policy with regard to Indian lands. Taught to first-year law students as the root of title for real property in the United States, the case has also been condemned by the United Nations and others as a Eurocentric justification for the subjugation of North American indigenous peoples. Watson argues that the United States should formally repudiate the discovery doctrine set forth in Johnson v. McIntosh.

The thorough backstory andanalysis in this book will deepen our understanding of one of the most important cases in both federal Indian law and American property law.
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Buying America from the Indians: Johnson v. McIntosh and the History of Native Land Rights

Buying America from the Indians: Johnson v. McIntosh and the History of Native Land Rights

by Blake A. Watson
Buying America from the Indians: Johnson v. McIntosh and the History of Native Land Rights

Buying America from the Indians: Johnson v. McIntosh and the History of Native Land Rights

by Blake A. Watson

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Overview


The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Johnson v. McIntosh established the basic principles that govern American Indian property rights to this day. In the case, more than one Anglo-American purchaser claimed title to the same land in what is now southern Illinois. The Piankeshaw Indians had deeded the land twice—once to speculators in 1775, and again, thirty years later, to the United States by treaty. The Court decided in favor of William McIntosh, who had bought the land from the U.S. government. Writing for the majority,Chief Justice John Marshall declared that the “discovery” of America had given “exclusive title to those who made it”—namely, the European colonizers. According to Johnson, the Piankeshaws did not own what they thought was their land. Indeed, no Indian tribe did.

Buying America from the Indians offers a comprehensive historical and legal overview of Native land rights since the European "discovery" of the New World. Watson sets the case in rich historical context. After tracing Anglo-American views of Native land rights to their European roots, Blake A. Watson explains how speculative ventures in Native lands affected not only Indian peoples themselves but the causes and outcomes of the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and ratification of the Articles of Confederation. He then focuses on the transactions at issue in Johnson between the Illinois and Piankeshaw Indians, who sold their homelands, and the future shareholders of the United Illinois and Wabash Land Companies.

The final chapters highlight the historical legacy of Johnson v. McIntosh on federal policy with regard to Indian lands. Taught to first-year law students as the root of title for real property in the United States, the case has also been condemned by the United Nations and others as a Eurocentric justification for the subjugation of North American indigenous peoples. Watson argues that the United States should formally repudiate the discovery doctrine set forth in Johnson v. McIntosh.

The thorough backstory andanalysis in this book will deepen our understanding of one of the most important cases in both federal Indian law and American property law.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780806191270
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Publication date: 08/02/2022
Edition description: First Edition
Pages: 514
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.46(d)

About the Author


Blake A. Watson has served as an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and is now Professor of Law at the University of Dayton.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations xi

Preface xiii

1 February 28, 1823 3

2 "The sinne of the Pattents" 11

3 The Illinois and Piankeshaws 27

4 "An unaccountable thirst for large Tracts of Land" 41

5 The Illinois Purchase of 1773 64

6 Lord Dunmore, the Wabash Purchase of 1775, and Revolution 77

7 Virginia Fights for the Illinois Country, 1775-1781 100

8 The Illinois and Wabash Proprietors Unite 118

9 Virginia Gives Up the Illinois Country, 1781-1784 140

10 Conquest, Purchase, and Preemption 154

11 A Time of Transition 174

12 Cession, Resistance, and Removal 199

13 The Shareholders Regroup 224

14 Litigation 250

15 The Argument and Decision in Johnson v. McIntosh 272

16 Closure and Continuity 296

17 The Legacy of Johnson v. McIntosh 318

18 The Critical Response to the Doctrine of Discovery 342

Notes 359

Bibliography 429

Index 471

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