Dred Scott Case Essay

In 1857 the court case of Dread Scott v. Stanford and in 1896 the case Plessy v. Ferguson were introduced into the Supreme Court. They showed people of color were not considered to be anything other than property; the whole majority had no regard for the feelings of another person. The notion of slavery was just coming to light in the United States. As time grew on, the slaves and former slaves were rightly becoming increasingly outraged. Through evaluating language of exclusion throughout both Dread Scott v. Stanford and Plessy v. Ferguson concurrently, anyone can recognize the effects of dehumanization negatively impacting members of the black community. This is disconcerting because African Americans are human beings and should be treated as such.

Decisions made in the 1850s ultimately decided the United States fate. From the election of 1856 to the Dred Scott case, the nation would become divided into two. The South was pro-slavery and supported the idea of slavery expanded into western territories, while the North opposed of the idea and was mainly against expanding slavery. Until the 1850s the nation barely balanced the slavery issue.

The Dred Scott v. Sandford case had the greatest impact on Race Relations in America because it created a legitimate definition of the citizenship. Scott, a former slave, stated that because of his occupancy in a free state, he is a free man. The other side argued that Scott was still a slave and according to the fifth amendment, no person (master) can be deprived of their property. The initial impact of the case was in favor of the slave owner but this decision was overturned by the adoption of the thirteenth and fourteenth amendment. The thirteenth amendment ended slavery and the fourteenth amendment granted citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States included former slaves who had been freed after the Civil War.

The issue of slavery was a significant “thorn in the side” of America from the very inception of our nation. Despite the fact that slavery was an accepted legal phenomenon in the eighteenth century, it also invoked significant controversy. Many Americans, typically those denizens of the southern states, felt that slavery was an indispensable economic necessity. Alternatively, others opined that slavery was an inherently immoral and unethical institution which denied certain races basic human rights, and as such warranted abolition, no matter the consequences. Although the Constitution never mentions the word “slave” once, slavery is referenced to in the Constitution several times, in three prominent compromises that our founding fathers were forced to make, for the sake of the establishment of a unified nation. These compromises had a lasting impact on future generations, both legally and emotionally.

This decision angered both northerners and southerners. The North was upset due to the decision, which declared that black Americans didn’t count as citizens, which made no effort in the abolition of slavery. The South’s issue was that the majority of their state population was African American, and would give them less representatives if they did not count as citizens, or people in general. This affected the election of Abraham Lincoln, which led to the South’s succession and the start of the

‘November 6 1860, Lincoln was elected president of America which resulted in panic emerging in the South’ . The election of Lincoln as president who was a Republican leader meant that ideologies, movements and values from the North would be implemented in the South which meant the abolition of slavery. Slavery was a huge characteristic of the South as the economy; politics; social status and psychological mind-sets were influenced by the process of slavery. The southern white population then derived the idea of secession which meant the South would gain independence from Northern aggression . This essay will explore the reasons as to how and why secession occurred and whether slavery was the main

The belief that slavery was wrong, was not strong enough for the the Constitution to overcome. Mr. Freehling said, “The only way Africans could be free was if they were sent back to Africa”. They didn’t think that if they freed the blacks they could live harmoniously together in America. Mr.

The case, Dred Scott vs Sandford, (1857) better known as the Dred Scott case was a crucial decision that affected America and it’s black population. Free blacks in America weren’t able to sue the court. The concept of popular sovereignty was also questioned, and blacks with ancestors were imported to America was slave could no longer become citizens. The Case ruled that slaves in free countries are still slaves.

The trial of the Scottsboro boys was a trial that was the cause of two white women accusing nine black men of raping them. Their appeals, retrials, and legal proceedings attracted the attention of the nation and produced to Supreme Court rulings in their favor. The Scottsboro boys trial demonstrates that nonconformity to unjust practices can lead to justice for all people because their trial triggered The Supreme Court ruling that had a major impact on the American system of laws for the right to adequate counsel, the ruling for the right to not be excluded from a jury based on race, and still has a continuing effect in our own time which affirms the principle of equal protection under the law. Their case not only saved them from the death sentence but also started up debate about equal protection under the law such as in the first Supreme Court ruling.

To a greater extent, slavery was the greatest cause of the outbreak of the civil war in 1860. Disputes of slavery caused economic and political troubles between the northern and southern states leading up to the civil war. The fact the the northern and southern states were different in almost every way caused them to turn out like completely different territories, one of their greatest differences was the fact that most southern states economy relied on hard labour, agricultural jobs like tobacco in Maryland, and cotton in Virginia; this caused their economy to be more based on the labour of slaves than the more developed territories in the north (Harrold), who after this time was starting to not need the slave labour in their territories because after early 1800’s, the industrial revolution had been spreading to America, and the country developed very quickly. But in this expansion, only the north states were getting the effect of the industrial revolution, meaning the north would not need slave

In 1607, the first wave of colonial settlers arrived in Virginia and began to establish Jamestown. Many of the new settlers came from wealthy families never performing a day of manual labor. With agricultural farming, being the revenue source of the new colonial settlers there would soon be a great demand for labor. Contracts of indentures were expiring and with much devastation in England, there was a shortage of English servants. Since the number of Africans far outweighed English servants, the English dominant sought to take advantage of this and in 1662 passed an act that racialized slavery by defining it as a status inherited “according to the condition of the mother.” In January 1639/40, Act X passed stating, “All persons except negroes to be provided with arms and ammunition or be fined at pleasure of the Governor and Council” giving us one of many documented acts of how racial freedom was affected. In this essay, I

The forefathers of the United States built this country on the ideals of freedom and equality for all people. Unfortunately, the fight for equality and freedom did not end with the revolutionary war. The fight has continued throughout the decades. Many of these issues were fought in the courtroom. Auburn University created an online Alabama Encyclopedia, there, the following quote stated, “Scottsboro became an international cause celebre that dramatically encapsulated the American south troubled post reconstruction history of legal and extralegal racial violence, the social and political upheaval of the great depression, and the lingering cultural divide between the north and south.” (Scottsboro trials). The Fourteenth amendment clearly states

In conclusion, the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision was one the most infamous in Supreme Court history. Dred Scott a slave who sued for his freedom on the base that residence on free soil had made him free lost the case. He lost in what is now known as one of the worst decisions in Supreme Court history. The court ruled that people of African descent cannot be, nor were ever intended to be, citizens. Therefore the court held that it did not have jurisdiction because Scott was not a

The Dred Scott decision is considered a landmark decision and is indicative of the tumultuous political climate of the time. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the rivalry between

1860 through 1877 America witnessed a bloody war that resulted in several constitutional and social developments, all attempting to break the established black subordination social order prevalent in the South. By 1877 the Civil War and Reconstruction had ended, and the social revolution had failed. There are two key parts to a revolution: force, and its use to bring a new order to society. There was certainly force during this time period, with Confederate lost and the Union’s military presence in the conquered land, the South had no choice but to accept the Constitutional Amendments and other acts that Congress had passed. However, for every policy that Congress had forced on the South, there was a loophole or an act of violence that fought against it. The black subordination social order had remained, unbroken by the abolishment of slavery or the Amendments that followed.