Dred Scott Decision
What was the final decision on those 3 issues?
1. African Americans were not American citizens. 2. Living in a free territory does not make a slave free. 3. Banning slavery in the Louisiana Purchase was unconstitutional to the Missouri compromise.
What were the three decisions that the supreme court had to consider in the Dred Scott case?
1. Whether African Americans were American citizens 2. Whether living in a free territory for a time made a slave free. 3. Whether banning slavery in the Louisiana Purchase was constitutional.
When did the Dred Scott Case reach the Supreme court?
1856
What was the decision in the Dred Scott case?
At first the Missouri Court decided that Scott would become a free man, but later appealed their case and decided against it. Thirdly, Scott went to the Supreme Court where they ruled against him and said that slaves were property and didn't have rights.
Who wrote the majority opinion on the Dred Scott Case?
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney
Who was Roger B. Taney?
Chief Justice of Supreme Court during the Dred Scott case.
Why was the Dred Scott decision important?
The Dred Scott v. Sandford case (1857) was the most important slavery-related decision in the United States Supreme Court's history. The purpose was to balance the Congressional strength of the two factions by making sure an equal number of slave and free states were admitted to the Union.
How did Northerners react to the Dred Scott case?
They feared that a future court ruling would allow future slavery expansion.
How did southerners react?
They were happy because they supported the idea of keeping slaves as property rather than equal citizens.
Who was originally supposed to write the majority decision?
Nelson was the original to write the majority decision.
Why didn't Scott become free to start off with?
The original Missouri court decision was appealed and in doing so denied his request to become a free man.
What was the split decision?
7-2
What was Sanford's argument in the case?
A person's property cannot be taken off of them without due process.
Who was Dred Scott?
A slave who went to Court to sue his freedom.
Who was Emerson?
Emerson was an army surgeon. He was the second owner of Scott, who initially took him into free territories.
Who received Scott after Emerson's death?
Emerson's wife received all of the slaves after her husband's death. She then gave the Scott family to her brother. ( John Sanford)
Why did Dred Scott sue for his freedom?
He was a slave who lived in both slave and free territories. So believed he was entitled to be free.
How did this court ruling help push the civil war?
It increased tensions between the north and south, as both sides had different opinions regarding the state of slaves.
