Facts of the Case
Provided by Oyez
The state of Georgia brought suit against the Secretary of War and two of his generals in an effort to prevent the enforcement of the Reconstruction Acts following the Civil War. The case arose under the Court's original jurisdiction.
Questions
Do the military laws invoked under the Reconstruction Acts unconstitutionally deprive Georgia of its sovereignty?
Conclusions
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Nelson maintained that this was a "political" question and thus out-of-bounds for judicial inquiry. Georgia sought rights of a political character, not rights of persons or property. Thus the issue was outside the domain of a law or equity court.
The States and the NLRB: A Study in Comparative Sovereignty
Engage Volume 12, Issue 3, November 2011
Under a system of government that diffuses power and makes institutional “[a]mbition . . ....