Arguments For And Against The Dred Scott

Decision Essay, Research Paper

The Dred Scott Case Against the Decision I am a northerner from Illinois that is against the Dred Scott decision. The Dred Scott decision that was just released is one of the most controversial decisions that Congress has made to date. It was also the worst pieces of legal reasoning ever to be issued by the Supreme Court. This case is a pure slavery issue. Either you are against slavery and disagree with the decision or are for slavery and agree with the decision. I am against slavery and strongly disagree with this decision and I believe that this country will have a huge fallout as result of it. Chief Justice argued that Scott, since he was a black man, had no rights in the United States, and therefore could not sue. I don t know about you but I believe that black people are living, breathing individuals that have a mind of their own. Black people make up the population of this country and should have rights that are protected. First of all, the decision was wrong. Mr. Scott was taken from the Slave State of Missouri to the free state of Illinois and then to the free territory of Wisconsin. He spent seven years in the free areas of the United States. The effect of taking slaves into the free territory emancipated the slaves completely. The slave is property by State law alone and Congress had no power to make him property. The slave owner could not carry his State law with him when he went into free territory. I thought that the free states and territories were “free” so there would be no slavery there. Slavery was an institution founded on territorial laws and these laws were meant to be followed. I could understand if they were taking a trip for a couple of months, but he spent 7 years on free land. And on top of that his master beat and ill-treated him before imprisoning him for twelve hours. This should have been enough to set Mr. Scott free, but it wasn t. This just proved that even if a state is free, it still was not safe for slaves.Another reason why it is bad is because this will have a huge affect on the turmoil between the north and the south. The decision took away all power that Congress had to regulate slavery in new territories. After this decision Northerners have reason to fear because if they do not stop slavery now, they might never get a chance to. Under the decision, slavery was found to be legal until the states voted against it. This gives the South a huge advantage that the Northerners must fear. They should realize that if they do not act swiftly, the Southern states might start expanding slavery into new territories and free states. This is the main reason why Civil War may erupt. Another reason why this decision is a mistake is because this ruling serves to turn back the clock concerning all of the rights concerning African Americans. They tried to declare that all black people in general were not citizens and they had not rights. The Chief Justice also said that since they were not citizens, Mr. Scott had not right to sue anybody. This ignored the fact that black men in five of the original States were voting citizens dating back to the Declaration of Independence. The most general definition of a citizen is a freeman. This person does not have to be a voter, but just a man that lives and breathes the air of the country in which he resides. Back in 1787 all free, native-born inhabitants voted. Negroes that were living in the five states during the adoption of the Constitution, were citizens as a result of this. This is even supported by Article IV of the Articles of Confederation, which states that “The free inhabitants of One State were entitled to the privileges and immunities of citizens in all the other States.” This There are nearly 4 million slaves in America. This decision will affect every enslaved and free African American in the United States. The United States Constitution was made to tolerate slavery but not protect it, but after this decision there was no denying that Constitution did indeed protect slavery. The Supreme Court also ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. This prohibited slavery north of the parallel 36,30. They said it violated the Fifth Amendment, which prohibits Congress from depriving persons of their property without due process of law. This was so stupid because people knew that slavery was wrong when they came up with the Missouri Compromise and they didn t want slavery to expand throughout the country.If we are not careful our country is going to crumble right before our eyes. This one event could spark a huge Civil War, which could be ongoing for years. I thought that we were the “United” States but apparently we are not united at all. It doesn t seem like we are united now but hopefully someday we will be.

I read a quote from Abraham Lincoln the other day that summed this situation up the best. “Slavery is founded on the selfishness of man s nature opposition to it on his love of justice. These principles are in eternal antagonism; and when brought into collision so fiercely as slavery extension brings them, shocks and throes and convulsions must ceaselessly follow.” One thing this case did prove is that slavery and freedom could not coexist. Hopefully the Supreme Court will realize how stupid their decision was and something good will come out of it down the line. For the Decision I am a slave owner from Missouri that totally agrees with this decision for man