Strike The Tent...
06 March 2006
  Today in Civil War History
1857 Dred Scott decision



The United States Supreme Court issues a decision in the Dred Scott case, one of the most important cases in the court's history. In the ruling, the court affirmed the right of slave owners to take their slaves into the western territories, negating the doctrine of popular sovereignty and severely undermining the platform of the newly created Republican Party.

At the heart of the case was the most important question of the 1850s: Should slavery be allowed in the West? As part of the Compromise of 1850, residents of newly created territories could decide the issue of slavery by vote, a process known as popular sovereignty. When popular sovereignty was applied in Kansas in 1854, however, violence erupted. Americans hoped that the Supreme Court could settle the issue that had eluded a Congressional solution.

Dred Scott was a slave whose owner, an army doctor, had spent time in Illinois, a free state, and Wisconsin, a free territory at the time of Scott's residence. The Supreme Court was stacked in favor of the slave states. Five of the nine justices were from the South while another, Robert Grier of Pennsylvania, was staunchly pro-slavery. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote the majority decision, which was issued on March 6. The court held that Scott was not free based on his residence in either Illinois or Wisconsin because Scott was not considered a person under the Constitution--in the opinion of the justices, black people were not considered citizens when the Constitution was drafted in 1787. According to Taney, Dred Scott was the property of his owner, and property could not be taken from a person without due process of law.

In fact, there were free black citizens of the United States in 1787, but Taney and the other justices were attempting to halt further debate on the issue of slavery in the territories. The decision inflamed regional tensions, which burned for another four years before exploding into the Civil War.
 
Comments: Post a Comment



<< Home
A Reference & Research Destination With Peer-Reviewed Sources, Published By an Amatuer Civil War Enthusiast.

Name:
Location: Gordonville, Pennsylvania, United States
Civil War Top 100 Top Blogs

Powered by Blogger

ARCHIVES
January 2006 / February 2006 / March 2006 / April 2006 / May 2006 / June 2006 / July 2006 / August 2006 / September 2006 / October 2006 / November 2006 / January 2007 / March 2007 / April 2007 / October 2007 / May 2008 / January 2009 / March 2009 / January 2010 / February 2010 / March 2010 / April 2010 / May 2010 / June 2010 / August 2010 / September 2010 / October 2010 / November 2010 / January 2011 / February 2011 / March 2011 / April 2011 / May 2011 / June 2011 / July 2011 / August 2011 / September 2011 / October 2011 / November 2011 / January 2012 / February 2012 / March 2012 / May 2012 / June 2012 / July 2012 / November 2012 / January 2013 / December 2013 / February 2014 /