Scott v. Sandford
| Subject: | 🗽 American History |
| Type: | Analytical Essay |
| Pages: | 2 |
| Word count: | 328 |
| Topics: | 👳🏿 Slavery, Civil War, Law Enforcement, 👨🏻⚖️ Criminal Justice |
essay ASAP?
Table of Contents
Historical event
The 1857 case of Dred Scott v Sandford was delivered by Roger Taney who was the then Chief Justice. According to the court’s majority opinion, slaves were not and could not be considered as citizens of the United States (Urofsky, 2018). Because of that, they could not bring their cases to Federal courts. On top of that, Judge Taney reads that the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional and that Congress did not have the mandate to instruct states to reject or allow slavery (Urofsky, 2018).
Significance of Case
The case if Dredd Scott v. Sandford is significant because it had implications on the lives of Black people, Congressional powers, and the Civil War.
Primary and Secondary Sources
Transcripts from the Supreme Court show that the court determined that Black people could not be considered US citizens (“Scott v. Sandford,” n.d). The ruling by the Supreme Court also limited Congressional Powers and did away with the Missouri Compromise and also sections of the Kansas Nebraska Act that allowed for state by state decisions (“Scott v. Sandford,” n.d). Oswald (2012) writes that while the Dred v. Scott decision did not lead to the civil war it contributed to two factors that did lead to the war. First, the split of the Democratic Party and second, it led the election of Abraham Lincoln who was a Republican (Oswald, 2012).
Analysis of Sources
The paper by Oswald (2012) provides a background and summary of the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford while assessing its implications on states and its legal and political impacts. On the other hand, proceedings from the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford provide an understanding of the major and minor arguments provided by the Supreme Court.
- Urofsky, M. (2018). Dred Scott decision. Encyclopedia Britannica.
- Oswald, A. (2012). The reaction to the Dred Scott decision. Voces Novae Open Journal Systems, 4(1).
- Scott v. Sandford. (n.d). Cornell Law School.
Offered for reference purposes only.