Summary Of The Dread Scott Case

The decision that was made in the 1857 by the Supreme Court about Dred Scott becoming a freeman was not reasonable or logical. In the 1850s the nation was faced with a conflict over slavery that would threaten to tear the West apart; the free states from the slave states. The main question that Dread Scott argued was whether a slave’s status overrode his previous condition when he entered a free state or territory. Throughout time, slaves had slave owners. Slaves were not considered people but property. They also were not considered American citizens, so it made more difficult to fight in the courts. Born in 1800, Dread Scott was a Missouri slave and was sold to the army surgeon named John Emerson in Saint Louis. From there, Scott was taken

The courts’ overturned the lower court’s decision and ruled in Sanford’s favor. Scott filed lawsuit against John Sanford again claiming damages against him for physical abuse, but he couldn’t sue the federal courts because he was already deemed a slave under Missouri. Many of Scott’s mistakes were based on the fact that he was not clear of his rights. (McBride) After ten years, the case was finally brought to the Supreme Court. It was the most famous case in history. The courts’ decided that all people of African ancestry, slaves as well as those who were free, could never be citizens of the United States. Therefore, he couldn’t sue the federal courts, and the government didn’t have the power to prohibit slavery. After the decision was made by the Supreme Court, the former master’s sons purchased Scott and his wife and set them free. Nine months later, Dred Scott passed away. (Africans in America,Dred Scott's fight for

It deprived property owners of the right to take the property where ever they wanted in the United States. (Dread Scott v. Sandford) The nation watched the biggest case unfold before their eyes. The southerners were losing the power of having slaves, and the violence began between the slaves and the slave owners. The antislavery forces were outraged by the decision empowering the newly formed Republican Party, which only helped the violence accumulate even more. The Dread Scott decision unleashed a storm of protesters against the courts. The courts decisions have always been precedential. In other words, they have continuously made decisions based on the past, and the Dread Scott case was new to them. This case caused many good things to occur, and many things bad to occur. Whether or not they did the right thing by declaring blacks to be property rather than citizens was based on the time and ignorance. (Dread Scott v. Sandford) Today is a different time, but we still fight battles amongst ourselves. That makes it harder to ask other officials to make the decisions for