Abstract
The United States Supreme Court case of Johnson v. M’Intosh is a foundation of property law in the United States. It established the United States government as the only possible buyer of land from people native to the continent. As the only possible buyer, the United States government had the power to negotiate a low purchase price. The bargain basement purchases are at the root of title for most of the property in the western half of the country. The case also forms an early and critical component of many property law textbooks. The case can be used to introduce the idea of acquisition by discovery and the idea that land ownership and the right to sell land can be limited. Sadly, the case is also a perfect introduction to how racism is fundamental to the law of the United States. The decision rests, at least in part, on “facts” that Christian Europeans considered themselves “superior genius” to the “fierce savage, whose occupation was war, and whose subsistence was drawn chiefly from the forest.”
This article will first examine the land in the case and establish that, despite assertions to the contrary, the land claimed by the two parties to the case was overlapping. Next, the article will outline the rather shady path of the case up to the Supreme Court. Then, the article will examine the decision, what important facts were missed, and the impact of the decision in the United States and beyond our borders. Finally, the article proposes actions that we, particularly those of us who live and work in the disputed territory, may take based on our more complete understanding of the case.
Recommended Citation
Sheila Simon,
Johnson v. M’Intosh: 200 Years of Racism That Runs With the Land,
47
S. Ill. U. L.J.
311
(2023).
Available at:
https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/siulj/vol47/iss2/2