NEW JERSEY v. WILSON
Term:
- 1792-1850
Facts of the Case
In 1758, the New Jersey colonial legislature made an agreement with the Delaware Indians, granting to them a portion of land which would remain an Indian possession forever. Part of the contract provided that the land could never be sold or taxed. In 1801, the Indians gained permission to sell the land. In 1804 the state legislature repealed the land's tax exemption.
Question
Did the repeal of the tax exemption impair the obligation of a contract between the state and the new owner of the land?
Conclusion
Yes. The unanimous Court held that the tax-exempt privilege, though originally enacted for the benefit of the Indians, was "annexed, by the terms which create it, to the land itself." The purchaser was entitled to "all the rights of the Indians" by virtue of claiming "the benefit of their contract."
Cite this Page
NEW JERSEY v. WILSON. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 27 April 2013. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1792-1850/1812/1812_0>.
NEW JERSEY v. WILSON, The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1792-1850/1812/1812_0 (last visited April 27, 2013).
"NEW JERSEY v. WILSON," The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, accessed April 27, 2013, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1792-1850/1812/1812_0.