Examines the history of state and territorial policies, laws, and judicial decisions pertaining to Native Americans. This book reveals how states and territories extended their legislative and judicial authority over American Indians during this period. It details how Indians contested the actions of states and asserted tribal sovereignty.

Assessing the racial conditions of incorporation into the American civic community, Rosen examines the ways in which state legislatures treated Indians as a distinct racial group, explores racial issues arising in state courts, and analyzes shifts in the rhetoric of race, culture, and political status during state constitutional conventions. She also describes the politics of Indian citizenship rights in the states and territories. Rosen concludes that state and territorial governments played an important role in extending direct rule over Indians and in defining the borders and the meaning of citizenship.