In November,
1827, the Creeks consented to a treaty extinguishing the last of
their claims, and the issue was avoided.
In the mean time, the Cherokees in the north-western portion of the
state gave rise to a new problem by adopting a national constitution
(July 26, 1827) and asserting that they constituted one of the
sovereign and independent nations of the earth, with complete
jurisdiction over their own territory to the exclusion of the
authority of any other state. [Footnote: Text in Exec. Docs., 23
Cong., 2 Sess., III., No. 91 (Serial No. 273); Ames, State Docs. on
Federal Relations, No. 3, p. 36; see also House Reports, 19 Cong., 2
Sess. No. 98.] This bold challenge was met by Georgia in the same
spirit which guided her policy in regard to the Creek lands. The
legislature, by an act of December 20, 1828, subjected all white
persons in the Cherokee territory to the laws of Georgia, and
provided that in 1830 the Indians also should be subject to the laws
of the state. Thus Georgia completed her assertion of sovereignty
over her soil both against the United States and the Indians.
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