Mill Vs Locke Essay Research Paper Dred

Mill Vs Locke Essay, Research Paper

Dred Scott was the name of an African-American slave. He was taken by his master, an

officer in the U.S. Army, from the slave state of Missouri to the free state of Illinois and

then to the free territory of Wisconsin. He lived on free soil for a long period of time.

When the Army ordered his master to go back to Missouri, he took Scott with him back to

that slave state, where soon after his master died. In 1846, Scott was helped by

Abolitionist(anti-slavery) lawyers to sue for his freedom in court, claiming he should be

free since he had lived on free soil for a long time. The case went all the way to the

United States Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Roger B. Taney,

was a former slave owner from Maryland. In March of 1857, Scott lost the decision as

seven out of nine Justices on the Supreme Court declared no slave or descendant of a slave

could be a U.S. citizen, or even had been a U.S. citizen. As a non-citizen, the court stated,

Scott had no rights and could not sue in a Federal Court and must remain a slave.

At that time there were nearly 4 million slaves in America. The courts ruling

affected the status of every enslaved and free African-American in the United States. The

ruling served to turn back the clock concerning the rights of African-Americans, ignoring

the fact that black men in five of the original States had been full voting citizens dating

back to the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The Supreme Court also ruled that

Congress could not stop slavery in the newly emerging territories. The Court also declared

that it violated the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution which prohibits Congress from

depriving persons of their property without due process of law. Anti-slavery leaders in the

North cited the controversial Supreme Court Decision as evidence that Southerners wanted

to extend slavery throughout the nation and ultimately rule the nation itself. Southerners

approved the Dred Scott decision believing Congress had no right to prohibit slavery in the

territories. The subject of this paper is to take a United States law, policy, or court ruling

and analyze it from the perspective of both John Stuart Mill and John Locke.

John Stuart Mill was a famous utilitarian philosopher, who had a Deontological

world view. What that means is you should do things because they are right, and not

worry about the consequences. If Mill were to look at the Dred Scott decision, he would

deem it unjust because the Supreme Court did not do the right thing they were more

concerned with the consequences of limiting the Southerners rights to have slaves.

According to Mill you are not free to lose your freedom. . He is no longer free; but is

thenceforth in a position which has no longer the presumption in its favour, that would be

afforded by his voluntarily remaining in it. The principle of freedom cannot require that he

should be free not to be free. It is not freedom to be allowed to alienate his freedom..(

Mill pg 536) That is informally known as Mill.s Anti-Slavery principle. Mill would also

argue that the Supreme Court took part in what he dubs . the tyranny of the majority. in

deciding the Dred Scott case. . The Tyranny of the majority. is when you do something

solely based on public opinion. .the tyranny of the majority. is now generally included

among the evils against which society requires to be on its guard. Like other tyrannies, the

tyranny of the majority was at first, and is still vulgarly held in dread, chiefly as operating

through the acts of the public authorities.But reflecting persons perceived that when

society is itself the tyrant-society collectively over the separate individuals who compose

it-its means of tyrannising are not restricted to the acts which it may do by the hands of its

political functionaries..( Mill pg 517) Mill would argue that the Supreme Court made its

ruling solely based on public opinion rather than a true moral decision. The information

that I have provided thus far, would implicate, in Mill.s eyes that Dred Scott should be a

free man and he was wronged and stripped of his inalienable right to be free by the

Supreme Court of the United States.

On further analysis of Mill.s arguments he provides a disillusioned counterexample

to the information thus shown. Mill believes that the only reason why your liberty may be

limited by the state is to insure that you do not harm someone else.

. The object of this essay is to assert one very simple principle, as entitled to govern

absolutely the dealings of society with the individual in the way of compulsion and

control, whether the means used be physical force in the form of legal penalties or the

moral coercion of public opinion. That principle is, that the sole end for which mankind

are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of

their number, is self-p

Внимание, отключите Adblock

Вы посетили наш сайт со включенным блокировщиком рекламы!
Ссылка для скачивания станет доступной сразу после отключения Adblock!

Скачать