Johnson v. M'Intosh

Johnson v. M'Intosh was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in 1823 that dealt with land ownership and Native American rights. The Court ruled that private citizens could not purchase land directly from Native Americans because the U.S. government held the exclusive right to acquire land from Indigenous peoples. This decision highlighted the principle of "discovery," asserting that European powers, and later the U.S., had the ultimate authority over land in America, undermining Native American claims. It set important precedents regarding land titles and the treatment of Native American nations within American law.