dred scott
There have been several cases in the history of the Supreme Court that have had a powerful impact on both the highest court of the land and the history of the United States. The Dred Scott decision can definitely be included in this category of monumental cases that changed the course of American history. Until this decision the Supreme Court had a flawless reputation. Its prestige and credibility were beyond reproach. This high regard for the Supreme Court made people on both sides of the slavery issue turn to it in the hope that what could not be resolved in the political world could be solved in the legal world by the highest court of the land. But this was really expecting too much of judicial power. The major error associated with this case was the misguided belief that a flaming political problem,slavery, could become manageable by calling it a legal problem and handing it over to the courts to resolve.In the Dred Scott case the decision was based on "expediency not principle." The big problem was trying to use judicial power to settle a major political problem. Although the Dred Scott decision may have been the result of a trial , in reality it was a case of the court battling with the complex issue
John C. Calhoun, the spokesman for the South, said that Congress did not have the right to prohibit slavery in the territories. The Southern attempt to extend the line of the Missouri Compromise failed, so their only hope was Calhoun's constitutional criticism of Congress' attempt to prohibit slavery in the territories.This was why they plunged themselves completely behind Calhoun's ideas. Calhoun argued that the territories were "the common property of the states of this Union. They are called the' territories of the United States,' and what are the ' United States' but the States united? Sir, these territories are the property of the States united; held jointly for their common use." This statement beautifully illustrates how extreme the Southern view of state sovereignty was. It was the Southern belief that the states should have the right to declare slavery in their states and it is beyond congressional power to prohibit slavery. Peter Blow decided to move his estate to Alabama and then to the thriving port city of St. Louis. During these years ,Dred married and had a child. Scott claimed freedom because of his stay in Minnesota and Illinois.After Dr. Emerson died, Scott became the property of Mrs. Emerson. When she remarried she gave Dred to her brother, Sanford , who regarded Dred as his property. Sanford said that even though Dred Scott had been in territories that prohibited slavery, his voluntary return to St. Louis, a slave bearing state, made him a slave once again. In the retrial Scott prevailed, but two years later, in l852, Scott lost in the Missouri Supreme Court. At this point the case began to attract a lot of public attention. replied with a plea of abatement on the grounds that Dred Scott was not a citizen of Missouri because his ancestors came to the United States as slaves. Since Dred is not a citizen, he cannot file a claim in a federal court. The plea of abatement was denied because the judge claimed that Scott was a citizen. After the trial the judge secretly informed the jury to vote against Scott; this is what the jury did. Calhoun presented his ideas to Congress, telling them that the territories belong to the states and since Congress is merely the agent of the states, it has no right to prohibit slavery. It all came down to whether or not you believe that state's rights are more important than federal rights or vice versa. Many debates, including the Lincoln-Douglas Debate, focused on this hot issue. The Northern view was based upon the Wilmot Proviso which expressed the view that Congress had not only the right but also the responsibility to prohibit slavery. The Northern view was also based upon the very constitution itself which said that Congress has the power to "make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory... belonging to the United States." With much debate, Congress was hopelessly deadlocked. The Senate would not approve any provision or law which denied the right of Congress to prohibit slavery in the territories. The House did not approve any package which included the right
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Approximate Word count = 2067
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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