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How Did The Dred Scott Decision Made The Civil War Unavoidable

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The Dred Scott Decision made the Civil War unavoidable because of the treatment of African Americans regarding their equality and opportunity. Dred Scott was a slave in Virginia who tried to sue for his freedom in court. The case eventually went to the Supreme Court level, where the justices found that, as a slave, Dred Scott was property that had none of the legal rights of that of a white man. The Northerners hated this decision because it meant that slavery could spread into all territories. This inflamed tensions as the Northerners felt that the South was trying to expand slavery into the free states and would be able to do so. “It allowed, virtually unchecked, the spread of slavery into territories and states, threatening the economic …show more content…

The Missouri Compromise focused on creating a balance between free and slave states. So, this was where Missouri was admitted as a slave state, and Maine was admitted as a slave state. The Missouri Compromise led to the Civil War because the country was split between half wanting slavery and half not. The problem with this is that it was only a compromise and was not long term. “Nevertheless, the act helped hold the Union together for more than thirty years” (History.com, 1) Though there is evidence to support both sides, I believe the Dred Scott Decision made the Civil War more unavoidable than the Missouri Compromise was. The Missouri Compromise was the very start of the segregation between the North and South, while the Dred Scott Decision made it visible that this issue needed to end and wouldn’t just disappear. The Dred Scott Decision showed that the North and South wouldn’t be able to keep making compromises and needed a final long-term end. Overall, the decision about Dred Scott caused the segregation between the North and South to greaten, and led to the Civil

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328 Words | 2 Pages

The Missouri Compromise was a significant turning point in United States history, it lead to many discussions on slaves civil rights, the Dred Scott decision, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In a sense, the Missouri Compromise impaired the unity of the United States and was the original fuel for the civil war. As states were expanding westward after the Louisiana Purchase, so was the debate of slavery. The North did not rely on slavery because it was unprofitable after the American Revolution.

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1837 Words | 8 Pages

The Missouri Compromise started with the subject of slavery and how westerners could not agree whether to permit it or to exclude it. Those settling to the south wanted slavery for economic reasons such as labor while those settling to the north had no use for slavery at all. Politicians in Congress had attempted to preserve a sectional balance between the North and the South. There had been a balance of 11 slave and 11 free states but once Missouri bided for statehood the North raised alarm because slavery was well established there. The issue here was that if Missouri came in as a slave state, it would tip the political balance in the South’s favor.

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Before the South‘s secession the Missouri compromise helped a lot in keeping balance. After Missouri requested to be a slave state to the Union, Congress knew that it would cause an uproar between states that were and weren‘t slave oriented. Due to this, the Congress created the Missouri compromise to keep balance between everybody. On May 3, 1920 the compromise was put in place which meant that it set Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state still creating perfect balance. As the Missouri compromise was in place it was condemned by plenty of Southerners but even with that it lasted and kept peace with everyone as well as help keep the Union together for more than thirty years.

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401 Words | 2 Pages

The Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 were attempts to bring the nation together but ended up pulling it apart. The Missouri Compromise's goal was to end the feud on the border for free and slave states, end the feud on Missouri becoming a free or slave state. The solution for the border was to have an imaginary line at 36 degrees, 30' minutes anything above the line, with an acception of Missouri, would be free and anything below the line would be slave. The solution to Missouri becoming free or slave was Maine would become a free state and Missouri would become a slave state to keep the number of slave states and the number of free states equal. In time the Missouri Compromise would tear the nation apart despite its intentions.

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575 Words | 3 Pages

The Missouri Compromise came as a two part solution to the admission problem. First, Missouri gained admission to the Union as a slave state, with a provision that portions of

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1569 Words | 7 Pages

So, in 1820, Henry Clay instigated the Missouri Compromise, the third critical event that led to the coming of the American Civil War. Missouri would be added as a slave state, but with that, a piece of Massachusetts, Maine, would be broken off and enter the union as a free state to ensure the balance. With this, a line was also drawn along the southern border of Missouri at the 36°30′ parallel and went across the remainder of the United States to the Pacific Ocean. This line divided the north and south literally as to where slavery was allowed and where it was not. This created greater diversity from the two sides and wedged the gap that was beginning to grow far wider.

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The act was modeled on the Compromise of 1850 but repealed both that compromise and the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The greatest benefit to the south was when the Missouri Compromise was opposed. The Missouri Compromise created the sacred 36-30 line, which would have caused the expansion of slavery to stop. But, the Missouri Compromise did not pass. “The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 may have been the single most significant event leading to the Civil War.

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For Lincoln, one of these main occurrences that influenced him was the Dred Scott decision handed down by Justice Roger B. Taney. In his final decision, Taney concluded that no African-American could truly become an American citizen. This decision was in opposition to the beliefs of a large section of the American populous, Lincoln and his Republican party included. Lincoln’s ideals as a Republican were fighting to stop the spread of slavery, not the abolishment of the institution as a whole. Lincoln epitomizes this when he wrote “peaceful extinction of slavery…” this meant Lincoln did not necessarily see the need behind the ending of slavery completely rather then its complete existence being

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756 Words | 4 Pages

America’s founders created the constitution in order to create unification and order in the United States. However, there have been controversy surrounding the interpretation of the constitution, this has caused debate over many issues within the country. These issues and the lack of wartime policy within the constitution directly lead to the Civil War, which was one of the worst alterations this nation has faced. The Missouri compromise, the Dred Scott decision, and Bleeding Kansas were controversial issues surrounding the constitution that directly lead to the Civil War.

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However, the Missouri Compromise caused some problems. The compromise equaled the concerns and interests in the North and South, but the South was upset about how Congress gave itself the power to create and pass laws dealing with slavery. Much of the North was upset because Congress let slavery spread into another state. There were people who didn’t want to compromise, and others who did, such as Henry Clay.

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620 Words | 3 Pages

The Supreme Court’s judgment in the Dred Scott case acted as a trigger for rising tensions and powered the fires of war that eventually overtook the nation. The main issue was whether an individual of African origin, who was transported into the country, and sold as slaves, could be considered a citizen of the country. The Dred Scott case played a significant role in the lead up to the Civil War by fueling sectional tensions, causing many Northerners to view the Supreme Court and federal government as pro-slavery, and ultimately contributing to the secession of the Southern states. First the Dred Scott case impacted the Civil War by powering sectional tension. Federal government believed and claimed that African Americans, whether they were enslaved or free, did not appear as United States citizens.

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881 Words | 4 Pages

This compromise caused loads of controversy because the Southern senators believed that the territories should be able to decide for themselves if they should allow slavery or not, like the original 13 states. The Southern senators thought the compromise was unconstitutional. On the other hand, the Northern senators argued that Congress actually had the right to say ban slavery in new states. I understand why the Missouri Compromise was created, but I believe that the compromise made the situation worse. To me it was unconstitutional of Congress to deny new states the right to decide if they should allow slavery or not.

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94 Words | 1 Pages

The end result of the Dred Scott decision was Chief Justice Roger Taney 's decision that Congress did not possess the jurisdiction to stop slavery from spreading into other territories, even if they were considered free. Even worse, any free Black could now be allowably forced into slavery. Being forced into slavery was also seen as being beneficial to the free Blacks. Instead of reaching a decision as President Buchanan had hoped, it had started a rapid expansion of the conflict. This rapid expansion over the issue of slavery eventually led to the Civil War.

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1563 Words | 7 Pages

The South did not like the Missouri Compromise, though. They did not like it due to the fact that Congress would now have the power to make or change any rules dealing with slavery if they felt that they needed to (Forbes

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537 Words | 3 Pages

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right. ”(Martin Luther King, Jr.) Most people were racist but now since the civil rights have been established most have stopped being racist and moved on. Three supreme court case decisions influenced the civil rights movements by letting more and more poeple know what the Supreme Court was doing to African Americans,and of the unfair him crow laws:(Dred Scott v. Sanford,Plessy v. Ferguson,Brown v. Board of Education). Dred Scott v. Sanford Is a case that most people felt that Dred Scott had an unfair charge against him.

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