United States v. Gratiot

In 1807, Congress authorized the president to administer a lead-mining licensing program on public lands the federal government retained rather than sold, reflecting a broader policy of keeping mineral-rich lands under federal management. John Gratiot (defendant) obtained a lead-mining license on federally leased land in Illinois in 1834 and later refused to pay the royalties his license required. When the government sued to collect, Gratiot argued the 1807 statute was unconstitutional, contending the Property Clause allowed Congress only to prepare and sell public lands, not to lease them out on an ongoing basis. The federal circuit court certified the constitutional question to the Supreme Court.