Marshall Trilogy Case Analysis

The Marshall Trilogy, which is comprised of three Supreme Court cases that took place during the early nineteenth century, was a significant influence in the formation of federal Indian Law. Through observing the language of federal Indian policy at this point in history, such as in the Marshall Trilogy, one can acquire a greater understanding of how Indian Nations were treated by the United States, and as a result see the ongoing negative effects that it has had on Native American society in present times. First, it is necessary to establish the manner in which Indian Nations were addressed by the Supreme Court. There is a notable distinction between Johnson vs. McIntosh and the Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia in how the Native American people …show more content…
government wanted to see. The documents, when reasoning whether or not Indian Nations were independent of the United States, are often unclear and contradictory. In the Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia, Native Nations are said to “look to [the U.S. government] for protection; rely upon its kindness and its power; appeal to it for relief and to their wants, whereas in Worchester v. Georgia it is instead emphasized that “the Indian nations had always been considered as distinct, independent political communities, retaining their original natural rights, as the undisputed possessors of the soil.” Although both these statements may be valid in their contexts, it is interesting to take into account that Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia is making a case against the Cherokee directly, while in Worchester v. Georgia the Cherokee are involved as an indirect party. The variance in language toward Indian Nations furthers the idea that attitudes toward Indigenous people were easily altered depending on the