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Why Is The Dred Scott Decision Important To American History

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Property, a building or buildings and the land belonging to it or them. Are humans land? Apparently they are. In 1857, Dred Scott was treated as property, which someone should never experience. The Dred Scott Decision was important to American history and eventually led to the Civil War. The Dred Scott Decision was important since it changed the way African-Americans were viewed, and caused the Civil War since it caused Southern states to expand slavery. The Dred Scott Decision was significant to American history. The Dred Scott Decision was a crucial event for the entire United States. This significant choice started in 1846, and came to a close in 1857. Prior to this decision, Dred was enslaved in Alabama, then was brought to Missouri. From there, he was sold to John Emerson, who brought him to Wisconsin territory. Soon after, he was brought back to Missouri. Once in Missouri, Dred Scott, and his wife Harriet filed for their freedom in Missouri court. Eleven years later, Chief Justice Roger Taney denied Scott in Washington D.C. due to three rulings; African-Americans had no rights in federal court, Slave states no longer had to follow the doctrine “Once free, Always free”, Congress should never have banned slavery in any territories. …show more content…

Based on the court rulings, African-Americans had no rights whatsoever. This can be proven by one of the three rulings made by the Supreme Court; “African-Americans have no rights in federal court.“ Consequently, African-Americans were treated even worse than before, since they couldn’t do anything to be free. Additionally, the second ruling; “Congress should have never banned slavery” almost led to slavery being legalized in every state. If slavery would have been legalized nationally, our country would not be like it is

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Roger B. Taney's History In The 1857 Dred Scott Case

561 Words | 3 Pages

Roger Brooke Taney made history in the 1857 Dred Scott Case by ruling that black slaves were not citizens of the United States. This controversial historical figure died on October 12, 1864, in Washington, D.C. One of Robert’s most famous quotes was "What Dred Scott's master might lawfully do with Dred Scott, in the free state of Illinois, every other master may lawfully do with any other one, or 1,000 slaves, in Illinois, or in any other free state. "What Robert is saying is that a master of a slave can do whatever he/she wants with that slave. By the time Roger B Taney became Chief Justice, Taney had become a staunch supporter of slavery, even though he had manumitted eleven slaves he inherited as a young man and made anti-slavery statements when serving as defense

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History Of The Antislavery Case: Somerset V. Stewart

344 Words | 2 Pages

To first understand why Mr. Dred Scott decided to sue for his freedom, we have to understand the prelude to his story. Even before Dred Scott was born a case in London was buzzing that would emancipate slaves and some historians believe the case contributed to increasing colonial support for separatism in the Thirteen Colonies of British North America, by parties on both sides of the slavery question who wanted to establish independent government and law (Britannica). The case was Somerset v. Stewart and it has been deemed one of the most important legal actions in the history of the antislavery movement (Weiner 71). The facts of the case were that James Somerset was a slave of Charles Stewart, an officer in the British colony of Boston in

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Dred Scott Vs Sandford Case Study

509 Words | 3 Pages

Dred Scott was taken back into slavery and accused Sandford because Scott was in a free states and claimed that he was in the free state long enough to be a free slave. The Supreme court ruled against Dred Scott, this decision affected blacks preventing them to become citizens and an giving them the right to appeal to a jury and making it harder for a slave to escape because the free states didn’t make a runaway slave a free slave. The case also affected popular sovereignty. Where states got to choose if they were to be a free states or a slave

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Compare And Contrast Ferguson And Dred Scott

1873 Words | 8 Pages

In the Dred Scott vs Sandford Court Case, the US supreme court proved this by declaring that black slaves were just considered property and could not sue in court. Dred Scott, an african slave, came with his owner to the Northwest Ordinance during the mid eighteenth century and lived there for two years. However, Congress previously declared that slavery was outlawed within that territory within the Missouri Compromise, as it stated any states above the 36 parallel were free states. As a result Dred Scott believed that he should have been freed and sued his owner till it got to the Supreme Court, where he was declared as just property, not as United States citizen, therefore not allowed to sue in court. “Dred Scott was a negro slave, the lawful property of the defendant; and as to the issue thirdly above joined, we, the jury, find that wife of said Dred Scott, and Eliza and Lizzie, the daughters of the said Dred Scott, were negro slaves, the lawful property of the defendant."

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Analysis Of The Dred Scott V. Sanford Case

955 Words | 4 Pages

White America will always have an advantage over blacks and it will continue to be this way, whether we would like to admit it or not. African Americans had the same capabilities to do anything a white American could, if not better in many circumstances. Unhappy with the hardships that challenged blacks’ freedom throughout their life, enslaved African American, Dred Scott, made a significant impact which eventually changed the views of slavery. Thus, the court ruling of the Dred Scott v. Sanford was established in 1857 which declared that slaves nor black men who were already free could be granted citizenship in the United States (Dred Scott v. Sandford, n.d.). Scott v Sanford court case was created to emphasize the wrongdoings of slave masters by expressing the poorly acts African Americans face while under the Declaration of Independence.

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How Did The Dred Scott Trial Impact The United States?

1614 Words | 7 Pages

Dred Scott, one of the most famous and iconic figures in American history, impacted the United Sates by causing awareness and a voice to not only the free black people living during that time, but slaves as well. Other than Marbury v. Madison case, the Dred Scott Trial declared a federal law unconstitutional, prior to the civil war. The case brought to light a topic that would soon explode-slavery. Many scholars believe that it is what brought the United States closer to the civil war and the case actually inspired the Republican party to rise. Dred Scott’s case was controversial because a slave in his time period had never gone to Scott’s extent to fight for his freedom and it inspired not only slaves, but those who advocated to end slavery

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The Lincoln-Douglas Debates During The Civil War

1820 Words | 8 Pages

Dred Scott was a slave who sought citizenship through the American legal system, and his case ended up in the Supreme Court. The Dred Scott Decision, in 1857, denied Scott’s decision to become a citizen by stating that no person with African blood has the right to become a U.S citizen. Besides denying citizenship to African-Americans, it also overturned the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had restricted slavery in certain U.S. territories. However, even before that there were many “amendments” or new laws put in place which had effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise. For example, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska.

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Dred Scott Case Of 1857

980 Words | 4 Pages

In this case, Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) Dred Scott was an African American slave at the center of the U.S. Supreme Court pivotal Dred Scott decision of (1857). Dred Scott was born in 1799 in Southampton county, Virginia, U.S. and he died September 17, 1858, in St. Louis, Missouri. The ruling rejected Scottś for emancipation which he based on his temporary residence in a free state and territory, in which slavery was prohibited, and struck down the Missouri Compromise (1820), thereby making slavery legal in all U.S. territories. Dred Scott was born in the United States as a slave.

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Dred Scott Decision Cause And Effect

1527 Words | 7 Pages

The Dred Scott decision became known as one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in history. After the trial, the Slaves in America had a will to fight for the rights more than they ever had before. The trail infuriated the slaves and the abolitionist, which called for retaliation against the North. The challenges that the blacks had to face through the history of the United States were never easy and it was an uphill fight everyday for their freedom. There are just so many things that were caused because of this decision and it affected America in a way that changes it forever.

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The Dred Scott Decision And Bleeding Kansas

756 Words | 4 Pages

Dred Scott was born was a slave in the state of Virginia and was owned by Peter Blow, who died in 1832. Scott only had two masters after Blow’s death; one lived in Wisconsin and later Illinois, both of which prohibited slavery, yet, Scott didn’t petition for freedom. Instead he met his wife Harriet. The two met their new master in Louisiana, who did not grant them freedom, so Scott looked for legal action to escape his slavery. Over a period of seven years, he went through trial and retrial until he was denied his final freedom in 1854.

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Dred Scott Impact On Slavery

877 Words | 4 Pages

Dred Scott impact of slavery Dred Scott impacted the citizens of the United States because he fought for his freedom, he went to trial to sue for his freedom, he impacted the citizens of all African Americans throughout the United States. Scott’s case influenced the nomination of Abraham Lincoln to the Republican party. Lincoln reacted with disgust to the ruling and spurred to political actions. Lincoln said “A house divided into itself cannot stand.’... this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.”

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The Expansion Of Slavery And The Civil War

94 Words | 1 Pages

The end result of the Dred Scott decision was Chief Justice Roger Taney 's decision that Congress did not possess the jurisdiction to stop slavery from spreading into other territories, even if they were considered free. Even worse, any free Black could now be allowably forced into slavery. Being forced into slavery was also seen as being beneficial to the free Blacks. Instead of reaching a decision as President Buchanan had hoped, it had started a rapid expansion of the conflict. This rapid expansion over the issue of slavery eventually led to the Civil War.

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Dred Scott Decision Research Paper

359 Words | 2 Pages

In conclusion, I believe the implications of the Dred Scott decision of 1865 was for the status of free blacks in the United States. Dred Scott, the African American slave fought for his freedom in Illinois, but was unsuccessful. The court’s decision rose questions and greatly impacted the status of free blacks. The slaves and the free blacks did not apply to the constitution, and were not recognized as citizens, which rose questions as to what rights they had and did not

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Supreme Court Case Essay

537 Words | 3 Pages

Dred Scott was sued for his freedom on the grounds that he had lived for a time in a "free" territory. The Court ruled against him, saying that under the Constitution, he was his master 's property. The people involved with this court case are the Supreme Court,Dred Scott, and Chief Justice Roger B. The final judgment for this case ended up in Dred Scott 's favor.

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How Did The Dred Scott Decision Made The Civil War Unavoidable

470 Words | 2 Pages

The Dred Scott Decision made the Civil War unavoidable because of the treatment of African Americans regarding their equality and opportunity. Dred Scott was a slave in Virginia who tried to sue for his freedom in court. The case eventually went to the Supreme Court level, where the justices found that, as a slave, Dred Scott was property that had none of the legal rights of that of a white man. The Northerners hated this decision because it meant that slavery could spread into all territories. This inflamed tensions as the Northerners felt that the South was trying to expand slavery into the free states and would be able to do so.

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