Momentous Decisions Essay Research Paper A momentous

Momentous Decisions Essay, Research Paper

A momentous decision is an important decision, or a decision of

great consequence, that may affect a certain group of people to a

certain extent, or it may affect the majority of people in many different

ways. A momentous decision could also be an important decision

that affects the majority of the population during that certain time

period, or maybe affects the future populations to come.

Another point of view of a momentous decision is a once in a lifetime

event that happens, even if its in a fiction book. Examples of

momentous decisions vary greatly on topics and time periods. A few

examples are: the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan,

Huckleberry Finn.s deciding he would rather go to Hell then betray his

friend Jim, Rosa Park.s decision not to move to the back of the bus,

King Lear.s decision to divide his land, the famous court trial; Roe vs.

Wade, the Dred Scott decision, Romeo and Juliet.s decision to be a

couple, Solidarity.s decision to resist the government of Poland, Aung

San Suu Kyi.s decision to resist the government of Myanmar, Martin

Luther.s decision to nail his Ninety-five Theses to the door of the

Wittenburg Cathedral, the decision of the New York Times to publish

the Pentagon Papers, Richard Nixon.s decision to visit China, etc. As

shown in the examples above, there were many momentous

decisions during the past that have affected that certain time period,

or might even affect present or future time periods as well. One of

the many momentous decision that affected the mid19th century, 20th

century, and probably many more centuries to come is the Dred Scott

decision.

The Dred Scott Decision was an important ruling by the

Supreme Court of the United States on the issue of slavery. The

decision, which was made up in 1857, declared that African

American, free or slave, could claim United States citizenship. It also

stated that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the United States

territories, mainly speaking of the Midwestern territories. During the

1850.s in the United States, Southern support of slavery and Northern

opposition to it collided more violently than ever before over the case

of Dred Scott, a black slave from Missouri who claimed his freedom

on the basis of seven years of residence in a free state and a free

territory. When the outweighed proslavery Supreme Court of the

United States heard Scott.s case, they that not only was he still a

slave, but that the main law ensuring that slavery would not enter the

new Midwestern territories of the United States. This decision sent

the US into fights between the disagreeing groups. The chaos would

end only after a long and bloody civil war fought primarily over the

issue of slavery and its extension into the Midwestern territories. The

Supreme Court.s ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford helped accelerate

the arrival of the American Civil War by intensifying the already tense

relationship between Northerners and Southerners.

Dred Scott was the slave of a United States Army surgeon,

John Emerson of Missouri. Missouri was a state that permitted

slavery, so there was no law that was broken. In 1834, Dred Scott

went with Emerson to live in Illinois, which also prohibited slavery.

They later lived in the Wisconsin Territory, but slavery was forbidden

by the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise was a plan

agreed upon the United States Congress in 1820 to settle the debate

over slavery in the Louisiana Purchase area. The plan temporarily

maintained the balance between free and slave states. In 1838, Dred

Scott and Emerson returned to Missouri. Emerson died five years

later, and in 1846, Dred Scott sued the surgeon.s widow for his

freedom. Unlike the states in the South, Missouri enacted slave laws

that were based upon those of Virginia and Kentucky. These laws

provided an opportunity for slaves to file suits for freedom, which

made Dred Scott.s decision completely legal.

The suits of Dred Scott and Dred Scott.s wife, Harriet, aren.t

exactly known, but a possible answer that most historians believe is

that Dred Scott.s long-time friend and childhood companion, Taylor

Blow, may have played a key role. Other historians feel the suits may

have been started by an attorney who felt he could make a large

amount of money form the case. There is also a possibility that it was

Dred Scott himself.

Scott based his suit on the argument that his former residence

in a free state and a free territory–Illinois and Wisconsin–made him a

free man. On June 30th, 1847, with Judge Alexander Hamilton

presiding, or as the head judge. Even with an ambiguous record, it

seems that Scott.s attorney, Samuel Mansfield Bay, the former

attorney general of Missouri, spoke for the slave. Mrs. Emer

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