Baltimore
June 20th, 1830.

...On every ground of argument on which I have been enabled by my own reflections, or the suggestions of others, to consider this question, I am of the opinion,

1. That the Cherokees are a sovereign nation; and that their having placed themselves under the protection of the United States does not at all impair their sovereignty and independence as a Nation. "One community may be bound to another by a very unequal alliance, and still be a sovereign State. Though a weak State, in order to provide for its safety, should place itself under the protection of a more powerful one, yet according to Vattell (B. I Ch. I § 5 and 6,) if it reserves to itself the right of governing its own body, it ought to be considered as an independent State." 20 Johnson's Report 711, 712 Goodell vs. Jackson.

2. That the territory of the Cherokees is not within the jurisdiction of the State of Georgia, but within the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of the Cherokee Nation.

3. That consequently, the State of Georgia has no right to extend her laws over that territory.

4. That the law of Georgia which has been placed before me, is unconstitutional and void, 1. because it is repugnant to the law of the United States passed in 1802, entitled "an act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes and to preserve peace on the frontiers." 3. because it is repugnant to the constitution, inasmuch as it impairs the obligation of all the contracts arising under the treaties with the Cherokees: and affects moreover to regulate intercourse with an Indian tribe, a power which belongs exclusively to Congress.

WM. WIRT