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In 1823, Justice John Marshall, Justice of the United States Supreme Court in Johnson v. M’Intosh held that the United States had “the exclusive right to settle, possess, and govern the new land and the absolute title to the soil, subject to certain right of occupancy only in the natives.” He added that “when the conquest is complete . . . the conquered inhabitants can be blended with the conquerors, or safely governed as a distinct people.” This article discusses the human rights tragedy and the line of cases and policy that stemmed from this decision which culminated in the …