The Cherokee Nation was one of the largest and most organized Native American tribes in the United States in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, encompassing much of the land in the southern United States. The Cherokee established laws that governed their nation first in the southeastern United States and then later in the Oklahoma Territory. Many of these laws detailed the rights of citizens in the Cherokee Nation as well as punishments for crimes, but of particular interest were the definitions of citizens and the rights of noncitizens, particularly those of Black or mixed heritage. Despite their mistreatment by the federal government during Andrew Jackson’s presidency, many of their laws resembled those of their southern neighbors regarding the rights and freedoms of Blacks.