State of Alabama v. State of Georgia
Encyclopedia
State of Alabama v. State of Georgia, 64 U.S. 505 (1860), is a 9-to-0 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States
which held that the true border between the states of Alabama
and Georgia
was the average water mark on the western bank of the Chattahoochee River
. In coming to its conclusion, the Court defined what constituted the bed and bank of a river. The case has had international repercussions as well. The Supreme Court's definition was adopted by courts in the United Kingdom
in the case Hindson v. Ashby (1896) 65 LJ Ch. 515, 2 Ch. 27.
, Charles I of England
granted Sir Robert Heath
a charter giving him title to Native American
-occupied land from the northern boundary of what is modern-day Florida
north to Albemarle Sound
(31st latitude), extending from the Atlantic Ocean
west to the Pacific Ocean
. In 1663, Charles II of England
revoked the Heath charter and issued a new charter to eight noblemen (the "Lords and Proprietors"). In 1665, this charter was amended to extend the land grant northward roughly to the current border of North Carolina
and Virginia
. In 1729, the Proprietors were forced to turn their charters over to George II of Great Britain
, and North Carolina separated from South Carolina
.
In 1732, George II granted James Oglethorpe
and other settlers a charter to all South Carolina Colony land west of the Savannah River
. However, the charter was unclear as to whether the new colony covered all of South Carolina's western border, and South Carolina continued to dispute Georgia's claim over a strip of land about 12 miles (19.3 km) wide. In order to help secure ratification of the Articles of Confederation
, the new United States Congress
passed legislation encouraging all states to give up their western claims so that new territories might be formed and transformed into states which might eventually be admitted to the union. In August 1787, South Carolina ceded the disputed strip of land to the state of Georgia.
In the Compact of 1802
, Georgia ceded its sparsely settled western lands beyond the Chattahoochee River
to the United States in exchange for a guarantee that the federal government would extinguish all Native American claims to land within the state's borders. The United States made good on its promise, removing
the Cherokee
nation to reservations in the new Mississippi Territory
(a process which would not end until the completion of the Trail of Tears
forcible removals in 1838). The Compact of 1802 specified that Georgia's western boundary would be as follows:
In 1817, what is now the modern state of Mississippi
was created from the western half of the Mississippi Territory, the remaining territory renamed the Alabama Territory
. The territory became the modern state of Alabama
in 1819.
The state of Alabama entered into a dispute with the state of Georgia over the specific meaning of the Compact of 1802. Alabama argued that the contour of the land on the western bank of the Chattahoochee River was sometimes high bluffs and sometimes low, flat floodplains, and that the high-water mark sometimes marched as much as a half-mile inland to the west. Georgia answered that it did indeed claims these lands as its own, and that the Compact of 1802 did not cover the northernmost part of the border (which Georgia claimed it had obtained directly from the state of South Carolina in 1787 without first transferring title to the United States).
The State of Alabama submitted its case to the Supreme Court in December 1855. The State of Georgia submitted its reply in December 1858.
delivered the unanimous opinion of the court.
Justice Wayne emphasized the mutual nature of the Compact of 1802, and pointed out that Georgia admitted in the agreement that its western boundary extended north to the border with the state of Tennessee
. This, then, made any argument over the South Carolina cession of 1787 moot.
Next, Justice Wayne argued that "The contract of cession must be interpreted by the words of it, according to their received meaning and use in the language in which it is written, as that can be collected from judicial opinions concerning the rights of private persons upon rivers, and the writings of publicists in reference to the settlement of controversies between nations and States as to their ownership and jurisdiction on the soil of rivers within their banks and beds." Citing scholarly sources from Europe, American case law (such as Handly's Lessee v. Anthony
, 18 U. S. 374 (1820)), and other cessions between states and the United States, Justice Wayne concluded that the Compact of 1802 did not mean the low-water mark as claimed by Alabama.
However, Wayne concluded that this did not necessarily mean the high-water mark, as claimed by Georgia. Rather, the Compact of 1802 specified the western bank, and the bank was different from the high-water mark. Drawing on the sources cited, Wayne defined the bank as follows (emphasis in original):
The majority concluded, therefore, that only the average water level defined the bank, and that the boundary of Georgia should be so marked. The Court also reaffirmed that the Compact of 1802 gave both states free navigation of the river.
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
which held that the true border between the states of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
was the average water mark on the western bank of the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...
. In coming to its conclusion, the Court defined what constituted the bed and bank of a river. The case has had international repercussions as well. The Supreme Court's definition was adopted by courts in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the case Hindson v. Ashby (1896) 65 LJ Ch. 515, 2 Ch. 27.
Background
In 1629, during European colonization of the AmericasEuropean colonization of the Americas
The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492. The first Europeans to reach the Americas were the Vikings during the 11th century, who established several colonies in Greenland and one short-lived settlement in present day Newfoundland...
, Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
granted Sir Robert Heath
Robert Heath
Sir Robert Heath was an English lawyer and judge.-Early life:He was educated at Tunbridge Wells grammar school, St John's College, Cambridge from age 14 and Clifford's Inn from age 17; and became a barrister of the Inner Temple in 1603. He was an MP for the City of London in 1620, and became...
a charter giving him title to Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
-occupied land from the northern boundary of what is modern-day Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
north to Albemarle Sound
Albemarle Sound
Albemarle Sound is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan and Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a long barrier peninsula upon which the town of Kitty Hawk is located,...
(31st latitude), extending from the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
west to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. In 1663, Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
revoked the Heath charter and issued a new charter to eight noblemen (the "Lords and Proprietors"). In 1665, this charter was amended to extend the land grant northward roughly to the current border of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. In 1729, the Proprietors were forced to turn their charters over to George II of Great Britain
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
, and North Carolina separated from South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
In 1732, George II granted James Oglethorpe
James Oglethorpe
James Edward Oglethorpe was a British general, member of Parliament, philanthropist, and founder of the colony of Georgia...
and other settlers a charter to all South Carolina Colony land west of the Savannah River
Savannah River
The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border...
. However, the charter was unclear as to whether the new colony covered all of South Carolina's western border, and South Carolina continued to dispute Georgia's claim over a strip of land about 12 miles (19.3 km) wide. In order to help secure ratification of the Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution...
, the new United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
passed legislation encouraging all states to give up their western claims so that new territories might be formed and transformed into states which might eventually be admitted to the union. In August 1787, South Carolina ceded the disputed strip of land to the state of Georgia.
In the Compact of 1802
Compact of 1802
The Compact of 1802 was a compact made by U.S. president Thomas Jefferson in 1802 to the state of Georgia. In it, the United States paid Georgia 1.25 million U.S. dollars for its central and western lands , and promised that the U.S...
, Georgia ceded its sparsely settled western lands beyond the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...
to the United States in exchange for a guarantee that the federal government would extinguish all Native American claims to land within the state's borders. The United States made good on its promise, removing
Cherokee removal
Cherokee removal, part of the Trail of Tears, refers to the forced relocation between 1836 to 1839 of the Cherokee Nation from their lands in Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina to the Indian Territory in the Western United States, which resulted in the deaths of approximately...
the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
nation to reservations in the new Mississippi Territory
Mississippi Territory
The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Mississippi....
(a process which would not end until the completion of the Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830...
forcible removals in 1838). The Compact of 1802 specified that Georgia's western boundary would be as follows:
- West of a line beginning on the western bank of the Chattahoochee River where the same crosses the boundary between the United States and Spain, running up the said river and along the western bank thereof.
In 1817, what is now the modern state of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
was created from the western half of the Mississippi Territory, the remaining territory renamed the Alabama Territory
Alabama Territory
The Territory of Alabama was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 15, 1817, until December 14, 1819, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alabama.-History:...
. The territory became the modern state of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
in 1819.
The state of Alabama entered into a dispute with the state of Georgia over the specific meaning of the Compact of 1802. Alabama argued that the contour of the land on the western bank of the Chattahoochee River was sometimes high bluffs and sometimes low, flat floodplains, and that the high-water mark sometimes marched as much as a half-mile inland to the west. Georgia answered that it did indeed claims these lands as its own, and that the Compact of 1802 did not cover the northernmost part of the border (which Georgia claimed it had obtained directly from the state of South Carolina in 1787 without first transferring title to the United States).
The State of Alabama submitted its case to the Supreme Court in December 1855. The State of Georgia submitted its reply in December 1858.
Decision
Associate Justice James Moore WayneJames Moore Wayne
James Moore Wayne was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and was a United States Representative from Georgia.-Biography:...
delivered the unanimous opinion of the court.
Justice Wayne emphasized the mutual nature of the Compact of 1802, and pointed out that Georgia admitted in the agreement that its western boundary extended north to the border with the state of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. This, then, made any argument over the South Carolina cession of 1787 moot.
Next, Justice Wayne argued that "The contract of cession must be interpreted by the words of it, according to their received meaning and use in the language in which it is written, as that can be collected from judicial opinions concerning the rights of private persons upon rivers, and the writings of publicists in reference to the settlement of controversies between nations and States as to their ownership and jurisdiction on the soil of rivers within their banks and beds." Citing scholarly sources from Europe, American case law (such as Handly's Lessee v. Anthony
Handly's Lessee v. Anthony
Handly's Lessee v. Anthony, 18 U. S. 374 , is a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the proper boundary between the states of Indiana and Kentucky was the low-water mark on the western and northwestern bank of the Ohio River...
, 18 U. S. 374 (1820)), and other cessions between states and the United States, Justice Wayne concluded that the Compact of 1802 did not mean the low-water mark as claimed by Alabama.
However, Wayne concluded that this did not necessarily mean the high-water mark, as claimed by Georgia. Rather, the Compact of 1802 specified the western bank, and the bank was different from the high-water mark. Drawing on the sources cited, Wayne defined the bank as follows (emphasis in original):
- ...the bed of the river is that portion of its soil which is alternately covered and left bare as there may be an increase or diminution in the supply of water, and which is adequate to contain it at its average and mean stage during the entire year, without reference to the extraordinary freshets of the winter or spring or the extreme droughts of the summer or autumn.
The majority concluded, therefore, that only the average water level defined the bank, and that the boundary of Georgia should be so marked. The Court also reaffirmed that the Compact of 1802 gave both states free navigation of the river.