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How Did The Dred Scott Trial Impact The United States?

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Dred Scott, one of the most famous and iconic figures in American history, impacted the United Sates by causing awareness and a voice to not only the free black people living during that time, but slaves as well. Other than Marbury v. Madison case, the Dred Scott Trial declared a federal law unconstitutional, prior to the civil war. The case brought to light a topic that would soon explode-slavery. Many scholars believe that it is what brought the United States closer to the civil war and the case actually inspired the Republican party to rise. Dred Scott’s case was controversial because a slave in his time period had never gone to Scott’s extent to fight for his freedom and it inspired not only slaves, but those who advocated to end slavery …show more content…

Within the United States supreme court, seven out of the nine judges either supported slavery or had owned slaves previously, so Dred Scott was entering a biased and unfair trial to begin with. On March 6, 1857, The decision for the Dred Scott v. Sanford case was heard by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, who stated that slaves were not citizens of the United States, and "... They had no rights which the white man was bound to respect". ( Cite Source) He also explained how Scott was never free when he lived in the free territories and that congress was prohibited to have any ruling over slavery, which made the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional . Everything that the Scotts fought for was over, and they were to remain enslaved. This made the north become enraged, while the south rejoiced with the decision, which led it to the brink of the civil …show more content…

Lincoln stated in his speech,” But we think the Dred Scott decision is erroneous. We know the court that made it, has often over-ruled its own decisions, and we shall do what we can to have it to over-rule this. We offer no resistance to it . . .” (Lincoln, Abraham). This gave the republicans some reinforcement to continue their fight to end slavery. Having lost the battle for his freedom, Scott had no idea what a powerful message and movement his trial would spark. However, the Scotts future would not remain dark forever, because after the trial ended John Sanford died. This prompted Dr. Chaffee, Irene’s husband, to transfer the ownership of the Scott’s to the Blow family. Dr. Chaffee, being against slavery, did not want to own the Scotts and did not want to be part of the slavery system within the United

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Roger Brooke Taney made history in the 1857 Dred Scott Case by ruling that black slaves were not citizens of the United States. This controversial historical figure died on October 12, 1864, in Washington, D.C. One of Robert’s most famous quotes was "What Dred Scott's master might lawfully do with Dred Scott, in the free state of Illinois, every other master may lawfully do with any other one, or 1,000 slaves, in Illinois, or in any other free state. "What Robert is saying is that a master of a slave can do whatever he/she wants with that slave. By the time Roger B Taney became Chief Justice, Taney had become a staunch supporter of slavery, even though he had manumitted eleven slaves he inherited as a young man and made anti-slavery statements when serving as defense

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In 1846, Dred Scott sued a Missouri court for his and his family’s freedom. This was the year in which the fight for freedom for Dred Scott started. His initial suit took hold in a local St. Louis district court. He lost the first suit but won his second trial. Although he won the second trial, the decision was set aside by the Missouri State Supreme Court.

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757 Words | 4 Pages

Today the trial, Scott V. Missouri, which was Dred Scott, a slave owned by Irene Emerson, suing for his freedom, had taken place. The trial had started out with a witness for prosecution, who stated that due to Dred Scott’s status as a slave, that he didn’t have any rights within the constitution. He went on to claim that the constitution only covered people and therefore, Dred Scott was only considered property and had no rights. In addition, the witness made the argument that due to Missouri law, Dred Scott was still considered a slave since he still resides within Missouri. During their argument, the Supreme Court questioned the witness about what the definition of a person was in the constitution and whose job it was to debate the Constitution.

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The dred Scott case resembled an eye opener to northerners who could tolerate slavery as long as it stayed in the south. Many northerners remained quiet, but the thought of slavery protruding into the free states was too terrifying for them to ignore. Northerners who hadn’t said anything before now realized they had to before it was too late, furthering the contribution to the civil war. It was only four years after the courts decision that the civil war had started.

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138 Words | 1 Pages

Dred Scott was a slave who sued his owner. He claimed he was free because his previous owner had taken him to Illinois (a free state) where he argued before the court that Congress had banned slavery by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The state of Missouri ended up finding Scott was going to be a slave, even though the previous decisions by Missouri favored the Emancipation Proclamation because slavery has become very popular within expansion issues and compromise issues. The Dred Scott v. Sanford case is an early example of the Court’s involvement in race relations, new attitudes arise that would be changed by the Civil War, and the civil rights movement. Abolitionists were livid.

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Dred Scott reported that Mrs. Emerson beat him and treated him terribly. Hence, why he decided to fight for the freedom that he believe he deserved. Two out of the three justices were pro slavery making it a hard battle to fight for Dred

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Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri, but from 1833-1843, he lived in places where slavery was illegal. When Scott returned to Missouri, he believed that because he lived in free territory, he was a free man. He sued without success in Missouri courts. Scott’s master said that Dred Scott couldn’t be a citizen because of Article III of the Constitution. In the end, Dred Scott lost and had to return to slavery.

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In 1846, slavery was a very big thing in America. But if a colored man asked if he could be free, would you say no? Well in Dred Scott’s case, that became a reality. That’s why The Dred Scott Decision was significant to American History and it led to the Civil War.

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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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The majority decision of the Dred Scott case in 1857, was unconstitutional. As a slave wanted his freedom he was denied said freedom by the courts. The Dred Scott case was all about a slave who wanted freedom because he said the Constitution allowed him his freedom. As it precisely does, in it, it says, as the first 3 words of the Constitution “We the People” with no specifications or criteria.

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Dred Scott impact of slavery Dred Scott impacted the citizens of the United States because he fought for his freedom, he went to trial to sue for his freedom, he impacted the citizens of all African Americans throughout the United States. Scott’s case influenced the nomination of Abraham Lincoln to the Republican party. Lincoln reacted with disgust to the ruling and spurred to political actions. Lincoln said “A house divided into itself cannot stand.’... this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.”

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The decision was one of the fourteen cases which was called the worst Supreme Court decision ever rendered and was later overturned. The Dred Scott Decision was a key case regarding the issue of slavery in March 1857. Where people don’t share the same privileges as today the court decided that black people weren’t considered as non- citizens they were slaves therefore without citizenship they have no right and they are unable to request for their freedom. In Scotts v. Sandford case an African American man who was born into slavery, wanted what all slaves would have wanted, their freedom. They were mistreated, neglected, and treated not as humans, but as

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450 Words | 2 Pages

In 1845, Scott sued his master’s widow for freedom on the grounds that the laws in Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory barred slavery. The case was dismissed by Chief Justice Roger Taney of Maryland (who apparently came from a slave state) on the basis that black people where not citizens, therefore Dredd Scott was not an American citizen and he had no right to sue and that because he was a slave, he was so inferior that he had no rights that the white man was bound to respect. This decision was very unsettling to the thousands of free slaves especially in the south because by stripping them of their citizenship the court had made them vulnerable to reenslavement or expulsion. To the blacks, the enemy was no longer the enemy, but the very government from which they had hoped for

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611 Words | 3 Pages

The Dred Scott V. Sanford case of 1857 declared that African Americans were not citizens of the United States and did not receive the same support from the Federal Government. During this time the Congress also lacked the power to ban slavery in all territories belonging to the United States. In 1850 Dred Scott and his family were declared free under the state court however, this did not last long. The Supreme Court of Missouri revoked the Scott’s family freedom which led him to take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court denied him citizenship of the U.S. even if he was a citizen of a free state.

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537 Words | 3 Pages

Dred Scott was sued for his freedom on the grounds that he had lived for a time in a "free" territory. The Court ruled against him, saying that under the Constitution, he was his master 's property. The people involved with this court case are the Supreme Court,Dred Scott, and Chief Justice Roger B. The final judgment for this case ended up in Dred Scott 's favor.

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