By Bartee Haile

The United States Supreme Court ruled on Mar. 15, 1896 that Greer County belonged not to Texas but the recently organized Oklahoma Territory. The questionable decision raised doubts about the justices’ impartiality and stole from the Lone Star State a million acres held since the Revolution.

In the Compromise of 1850, crafted by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster to postpone the Civil War, Texas ceded to the federal government a giant western realm. Vast portions of the future sta...