Skill 8: Summarize the impact of the Dred Scott decision on the crisis over slavery.
In 1857, the United States Supreme Court inflicted great tension upon the injured nation. Its conviction in the Dred Scott Decision drove abolitionists and slave-owners farther apart. Dred Scott was an illiterate slave whom was held in Missouri. In the 1830's, his owner took him to Illinois, and the Wisconsin Territory. The owner's actions were illegal, against the Missouri Compromise, in which barred slavery.
When Scott returned to the slave state of Missouri, abolitionists encouraged for him to seek freedom. Dred and his supporters argued that he should have been entitled freedom as soon as he stepped on Illinois soil. They also argued that because slavery was barred in the Wisconsin Territory, he was also free. The various issues were addressed in the United States Supreme Court in 1857, and it turned into a major political issue.
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote the Supreme Court's majority decision. The Cabinet consisted of many slaveholders, in which biased the outcome of the case. After the case, the Court ruled that Scott was not a citizen and that because he was descended from a slave, he could never become a citizen. Scott's plea for freedom was refused because non-citizens couldn't file suits in a federal court. The justices furthered their claims by declaring that only state governments had a right to ban slavery. Under the Fifth Amendment, Congress wasn't able to take any property without "due process of law". But, under the majority decision, the part of the Missouri Compromise that banned slavery in territories was illegal and enforceable.
After the case, the North was shocked by the defiance of the ruling and the Court's alarming decision. Eventually, Dred Scott gained freedom when his old master died, and his new master freed him. This event was a milestone in United States History, ultimately pushing toward Civil War.
When Scott returned to the slave state of Missouri, abolitionists encouraged for him to seek freedom. Dred and his supporters argued that he should have been entitled freedom as soon as he stepped on Illinois soil. They also argued that because slavery was barred in the Wisconsin Territory, he was also free. The various issues were addressed in the United States Supreme Court in 1857, and it turned into a major political issue.
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote the Supreme Court's majority decision. The Cabinet consisted of many slaveholders, in which biased the outcome of the case. After the case, the Court ruled that Scott was not a citizen and that because he was descended from a slave, he could never become a citizen. Scott's plea for freedom was refused because non-citizens couldn't file suits in a federal court. The justices furthered their claims by declaring that only state governments had a right to ban slavery. Under the Fifth Amendment, Congress wasn't able to take any property without "due process of law". But, under the majority decision, the part of the Missouri Compromise that banned slavery in territories was illegal and enforceable.
After the case, the North was shocked by the defiance of the ruling and the Court's alarming decision. Eventually, Dred Scott gained freedom when his old master died, and his new master freed him. This event was a milestone in United States History, ultimately pushing toward Civil War.