Dred Scott Case Essay

The Confederate states felt the federal government was too controlling and that the state should be able to act more independently (like legalizing slavery when the federal government out-lawed it). This is why they declared that they were ceceding from the union. This caused the federal government to reject their claim of independence and supress it with force. Slavery WAS an issue, but it was more about free states vs. slave states. Lincoln was firmly opposed to slavery in new states.

The Constitution was twisted in many ways by the court in this case. Since slaves were considered property, the government couldn 't constitutionally justify taking me away from my owner. The government also couldn 't prohibit slavery or stop it from spreading to free states. This argument is from amendment 10 in the constitution that states that the federal government only has powers that are delegated to them by the states or the people through the constitution. In other words, if the constitution doesn 't prohibit something, the court can 't prohibit it.

Although many attempts were made to prioritize freedom and equality for all, these values were undermined by racist Southerners who wouldn’t accept equality. In the end, Reconstruction had failed and former slaves endured another hardship akin to slavery. However, Reconstruction still could have prospered. There are multiple events that, if they had occurred, Reconstruction would not have failed. For example, had the government continued to fund the Freedmen’s Bureau, then the South would have legislated their discriminatory laws much later, if not at all.

By putting Jefferson in a situation where denying African American slaves freedom would be a blatant disregard for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," as supported by Jefferson, Banneker effectively challenges Jefferson's ethics and integrity. If Jefferson were to disagree with Banneker, he would then be subject to hypocrisy, a vice that damages the reputations of politicians and dignitaries. After accusing Jefferson of having double standards, Banneker finally allows Jefferson to come to his own conclusion. He "supposes that Jefferson's knowledge of the situation of his brethren is too extensive to need a recital," forcing Jefferson to come to his own final decision after reading his plausible logos. This is a highly useful way for Banneker to close his argument because he leaves Jefferson with practically one remaining option - that he is

In spite of this, not everyone was happy about the new Constitution. This broke people up into two groups: Anti-Federalists and Federalists. The Anti-Federalists were those in favor of strong states’ rights. They disliked the Constitution because they believed that there was a chance that Constitution would destroy the freedoms the colonies fought for. They were scared of tyranny, especially pertaining to the fact that under the new Constitution, the national government, or Congress, would be able to make decisions without even asking for the states’ permission.

Lincoln’s and Douglass’s views differed from Davis’s because they did not consider the slaves as a chattel. Lincoln declared slavery illegal in the Confederate States in the famous Emancipation Proclamation. There is a famous quote form Douglass: where justice is denied and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe. Also, their views differed from Lydia Maria Child’s. Lincoln and Douglass believed the Constitution should be a protection against, rather than a sanction for slavery.

Throughout the middle of the 1800s, the unity of the United States was threatened by the possibility of traveling closer to dividing into two separate countries. Disputes between the North and South grew as they disagreed on the allowance of slavery in the United States. The North strongly believed that slavery was immoral and should be abolished, whereas, the economy of the South greatly depended on the work of slaves in the cotton industry. After many years of compromises dealing with popular sovereignty among the states, a few key events led to the inevitable disunion of the United States. The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the decision in the Dred Scott case led to disunion because they resulted in disagreements between the North

(a) The Compromise of 1850 - The compromise increased tensions between the North and the South because it introduced popular sovereignty which allowed the new territories to decide whether or not to allow slavery. It also included the Fugitive Slave Law and popular sovereignty which for northerners were unacceptable and they ignored it and this just caused anger and fear in the South. (b) The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 - Stirred up a storm of opposition in the North. Northerners who aided the slave to escape were liable to heavy fines and jail sentences. Fugitive Slave Law was the most argumentable part of the Compromise of 1850 and caused many abolitionists to increase their efforts against slavery and also increased the Underground Railroad

The colonists may have refused to accept the responsibilities of being Englishmen, however, the American colonists were reasonably justified in waging war and breaking away from Britain. The increasing distrust of and resentment toward British officials, the unfair and oppressive taxes imposed by Parliament on the colonists, and the restriction of colonial freedoms all contribute to the colonists’ justification of secession from Great Britain. Some may believe the colonists’ rebellion against British authority was not justified. The British Parliament had appropriate motives for imposing the laws they did on the colonists in the 1760s. The Seven Years’ War was “a war undertaken for [the colonists’] defense only,” to which Britain had devoted a large proportion of its resources.

The Dred Scott vs Sandford case ended with the decision that African Americans, free and enslaved, had no rights and could not become citizens because they were property. It also ruled that the federal government didn 't have the power to regulate slavery. After the Dred Scott vs Sandford case, outrage flourished in anti-slavery northerners and an uproar swept through the south. Anti-slavery abolitionists were outraged because the Supreme Court ruled that all African Americans may not become citizens. The turmoil in the south was caused by the somewhat pro-slavery ruling in the Dred Scott vs Sandford decision.

The Marbury vs Madison case was a landmark Supreme Court case that formed the basis of judicial review. William Marbury had been anointed justice of peace by John Adams at the end of his term as President. James Madison believed that he should not have been appointed justice of peace. Following this, Madison did not deliver Marbury’s commission which resulted in the Marbury vs Madison case. As acting Chief Justice John Marshall told Madison that what he had done was illegal, but since Marbury’s petition was out of jurisdiction Madison claimed it unconstitutional so the court could not order Madison to return the papers.

“Federalists argued that the Constitution did not need a bill of rights, because the people and the states kept any powers not given to the federal government.” (http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/bill-of-rights/). This quote means that anything the federal government does not control, the states would control. An example of this would be the Tenth Amendment, which is anything that is not controlled by the federal government went to the control of the state. The southern states pre-civil war favored this amendment because it gave them the control they wanted over slavery. The concept of slavery being taken away as a right led to the Southern states seceding, becoming a “country” of their own.

Certainly, Americans were being extremely greedy and wanted more and more land. Was the United States justified in going to war with Mexico? The United States was not justified in going to war with Mexico because they did not respect their laws, culture, and their beliefs. Second of all, this evidence shows that the US was not justified in going to war because it was useless to fight if the Mexicans were going to lose Texas if it was not now, it would be later on. Truly, it was very clear that the Americans won the war because Texas wanted to become part of the US, and the United States wanted to adopt Texas into their union.

Mainly, Reconstruction was unsucessful because of South and North disagreement on the slavery isssue. Firstly, after Emancipation Proclamation was announced, Southern States started to prevent African-Americans from leaving the plantation and moving west, thus creating the black codes. These black codes were several restrictions on African-Americans like voting or serving on juries. Those black codes were a way of Southern states showing their disagreement with the North which showed opposement to the Reconstruction. Secondly, the Radical Republicans were determined not to let Johnson control Reconstruction.

Thus causing even more conflict, especially amongst those not in the South. Another controversial issue was federalism because Marshall gave the national government a vast amount of power over state 's rights, and Taney believed more in giving power to the state rather than the national government. In addition, this is when outside groups started forming and lobbying their influence over government decisions, whether it is pertaining to slavery, rights, or economic interests. James Madison regarded “factions” or interest groups with concern when authoring segments of the Federalist Papers. The problem he envisioned was that eliminating them from the political scene was a threat to democratic principles, a cure worse than the disease.