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...
John Marshall's landmark 1823 decision in Johnson v. M'Intosh gave the European sovereigns who "discovered" North America rights to the land,...
"A newly discovered document sheds light on Indian self-governance"
Felix Cohen (1907-1953) was a leading architect of the Indian New Deal and steadfast champion of American Indian rights. Appointed to the Department of the Interior in 1933, he helped draft the Indian Reorganization Act (1934) and chaired a committee charged with assisting tribes in organizing their governments. His "Basic Memorandum on Drafting of Tribal Constitutions," submitted in November 1934, provided practical guidelines for that effort.
Largely forgotten until Cohen's papers were released more than half a...
"A newly discovered document sheds light on Indian self-governance"
Felix Cohen (1907-1953) was a leading architect of the Indian New Deal and st...
