Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, p. 1024
Nation. A people, or aggregation of men, existing in the
form of an organized jural society, usually inhabiting a distinct portion
of the earth, speaking the same language, using the same customs, possessing
historic continuity, and distinguished from other like groups by their
racial origin and characteristics, and generally, but not necessarily,
living under the same government and sovereignty. Montoya v. U.S.,
180 U.S. 261, 21 S.Ct. 358, 45 L.Ed. 521
In American
constitutional law the word "state" is applied to the several members
of the American Union, while the word "nation" is applied to the whole
body of the people embraced within the jurisdiction of the federal government.
[Black's
Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, p. 1024]
“By that law the several States
and Governments spread over our globe, are considered as forming
a society, not a NATION. It has only been by a very
few comprehensive minds, such as those of Elizabeth and the Fourth
Henry, that this last great idea has been even contemplated. 3rdly.
and chiefly, I shall examine the important question before us, by
the Constitution of the United States, and the legitimate result
of that valuable instrument. “
[Chisholm v. Georgia,
2 Dall. (U.S.) 419, 1 L.Ed. 440 (1793)]