Conquest by Law: How the Discovery of America Dispossessed Indigenous Peoples of Their Lands

ISBN-13: 9780195314892 / Angielski / Miękka / 2007 / 272 str.

Lindsay G. Robertson

Opis

John Marshall's landmark 1823 decision in Johnson v. M'Intosh gave the European sovereigns who "discovered" North America rights to the land, converting Native Americans in one stroke into mere tenants. In 1991, while investigating the historical origins of this highly controversial decision, Lindsay Robertson made a startling find in the basement of a Pennsylvania furniture-maker--the complete corporate records of the Illinois and Wabash Land Companies, the plaintiffs in the case. Drawing on these records, Conquest by Law provides, for the first time, a complete and troubling account of collusion, detailing how a spurious claim gave rise to a doctrine--intended to be of limited application--which led to the massive displacement of Native Americans and the creation of a law that governs indigenous people to this day.

Recenzje

"Drawing upon previously unknown historical records, Professor Robertson has written a major book destined to force a significant reconsideration of the legal principles and the landmark judgment relied upon in the USA, as well as in many other countries, to legitimate colonial assertions of ownership overriding indigenous ones."—Bradford W. Morse, Professor of Law, University of Ottawa

O autorze

Lindsay G. Robertson is Orpha & Maurice Merrill Professor of Law, History & Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. A frequent commentator on indigenous legal affairs, Robertson has served as Faculty Director of the Center for the Study of American Indian Law & Policy since 1998. He teaches courses on Federal Indian Law and Constitutional Law.