Dred Scott v. Sandford

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Dred Scott v. Sandford

• By Chloe Sturges

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Overview

• Dred Scott, a slave in the 1800s, was taken
  out of Missouri, a slave state, by his owner John
  Emerson (an army surgeon) to military bases in
  free territories Illinois and Wisconsin, and then
  taken back to Missouri after a few years. His
  owner died soon after their return, and Scott was
  passed to John Sanford. Scott believed he should
  be freed on grounds that he had lived in free
  territory and should therefore be emancipated.
  His case eventually came before the supreme
  court, led by Chief Justice Robert B. Taney, a
  slavery supporter. The Court ruled that persons
  descended from African slaves could not become
  citizens even if they were freed, and therefore
  were not entitled to protection under the
  constitution. The Court also ruled that the
  Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional
  because Congress had no right to prohibit
  slavery, due to the fact that slaves were
  property and the Constitution protected the right
  to property.

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Details of ruling

• Taney (writing for the majority) said Scott could
  not sue Sanford because he was not a U.S.
  citizen.
• Court found that Scott was not a citizen because
  he was both a slave and of African descent
• Taney believed slaves "had no rights which the
  white man was bound to respect"
• President elect James Buchanan convinced
  Democratic justice Robert Grier to vote with the
  Southern majority on this ruling to make it seem
  like the decision wasnt purely sectional in
  favor of the South
• Taney ruled that the Missouri Compromise of 1820
  was unconstitutional because slaves were
  property, or chattel, meaning Congress could
  not prohibit slavery in a territory because that
  would go against the Constitutions protection of
  the right to property.
• Made possible the expansion of slavery into the
  territories.

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Dred Scott

• Lived 1795-1858
• Born a slave in Southampton County, VA
• 1834 taken by owner John Emerson to free
  territory Illinois and Wisconsin then back to
  Missouri (slave state) about 12 years later
• During his time in free territory, Emerson
  allowed Scott to be married, an uncommon
  privilege for slaves at that time (Scott later
  had 2 children)
• Emerson died in 1843, upon their return to
  Missouri, and Scott, along with wife Harriet,
  were passed to the ownership of Emersons wife,
  Eliza Emerson.
• Dred Scott attempted to buy his freedom, but
  Emerson refused, so he sued Emerson for his
  freedom 1846 ( Scott and family were found free,
  but Emerson was granted a new trial set for 1848)
• Before the trial, Emerson moved to Massachusetts,
  transferring advocacy of the case to her brother,
  John Sanford
• This case went before the U.S. Supreme court
• March 6, 1857, in Dred Scott v. John Sandford
  (the Court misspelled Sanfords name), after much
  debate, the Supreme Court ruled against Scott 7
  to 2, with Chief Justice Roger B. Taney giving
  the majority opinion.
• a Short time after the trial was over, the sons
  of Peter Blow, Scotts first owner, bought Scott
  and his familys emancipation

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Robert B. Taney

• Lived from 17771864
• 5th Chief Justice of Supreme Court 1836-1864
• Died on the day Maryland abolished slavery
• Replaced John Marshall as Chief Justice of
  Supreme Court
• Emancipated all of his own slaves and gave them
  pensions when they became too old for work
• Became very pro-slavery over time
• Believed the Dred Scott decision would take the
  issue of slavery out of discussion and keep it
  from being debated anymore

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Taneys ruling v Opposition

• 2 justices (Justice Curtis and Justice McLean)
  dissented and contradicted Taneys views, saying
  blacks were citizens in many Northern free
  territories so they were citizens of the U.S.
• Also, in Constitution, only 3 sections actually
  mention slavery (sort of), and when the term
  slavery is implied, slaves are referred to as
  persons, not property.

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Who?
Robert B. Taney
Dred Scott
James Buchanan
Dred Scotts wife, Harriet
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When Where?(the arrows depict Dred Scotts
voyage from slave to free back to slave territory)
St. Louis Misouri, location of early court
proceedings Washington D.C., location of Supreme
Court hearing
Free territories Scott lived in
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What if things had gone differently?

• The Decision caused many Northerners to fear that
  slavery would spread to the Western territories
  and maybe even to the Northern States eventually.
  This growing fear in the North was one of the
  contributing causes of the Civil War.
• But What if the Supreme Court had ruled in favor
  of Dred Scott? Would there still have been a
  Civil War?
• Would it have been sooner or later?
• Noting that the 14th amendment specifically
  overruled the Dred Scott decision, granting
  citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in
  the United States, would the 13th and 14th
  amendments to the Constitution have been created
  after the Civil War?
• Would Lincoln still have felt the need to issue
  the Emancipation Proclamation (immediate freedom
  of all slaves) at the start of the Civil War?
• In summary, this decision had a profound impact
  on American History, but we will never know what
  mightve been if that ruling had been different.

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Consequences of Decision

• Dred Scott decision one of the major causes of
  the Panic of 1857, because people in west were
  afraid if slavery was opened to all western
  territory, railroad bond values would plummet
• Caused a run on major New York banks
• Fear of possible spread of slavery into the North
  was contributing factor in Civil War

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Once Dred Scott and his family were finally freed
in 1858, they lived in St. Louis Missouri, where
Scott was a local celebrity until his death only
18 months later. He died of tuberculosis in 1858.
Roger Taney remained Chief Justice until after
the Civil was began, although by that time he was
hated by both the North and South, including
president Lincoln.
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Sources

• Pictures
• http//www.lib.unc.edu/coursepages/hist/images/Dre
  dScott.jpg
• http//media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/34/6683
  4-004-F337E210.jpg
• http//www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/africanam
  erican/scott/images/8744-08.jpg
• http//www.iamthewitness.com/books/img/Roger.B.Tan
  ey.jpg
• http//mentalfloss.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads
  /2008/06/225px-Roger_Taney.jpg
• http//z.about.com/d/americanhistory/1/0/k/9/15_bu
  chanan_1.jpg
• http//images.google.com/images?hlenclientfiref
  ox-arlsorg.mozillaen-USofficialum1qdollar
  signssaNstart18ndsp18
• http//www.slaveryinamerica.org/geography/slavery_
  us_1860.jpg

• Information
• http//www.answers.com/topic/dred-scott
• http//www.biographybase.com/biography/Taney_Roger
  _B.html
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dred_Scott_v._Sandfor
  dScott_v._Emerson
• http//www.apstudent.com/ushistory/search.php
• Text book
• Primary Sources
• The United States Constitution
• www.USConstitution.net
• Scott v. Sandford full text
• http//supreme.justia.com/us/60/393/case.html