The Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott DecisionThere have been several cases in the history of the Supreme
Court that have had a powerful impact on both the highest court of the
land and the history of the United States. The Dred Scott decision can
definitely be included in this category of monumental cases that
changed the course of American history. Until this decision the
Supreme Court had a flawless reputation. Its prestige and credibility
were beyond reproach. This high regard for the Supreme Court made
people on both sides of the slavery issue turn to it in the hope that
what could not be resolved in the political world could be solved in
the legal world by the highest court of the land. But this was really
expecting too much of judicial power. The major error associated with
this case was the misguided belief that a flaming political
problem,slavery, could become manageable by calling it a legal problem
and handing it over to the courts to resolve.
In the Dred Scott case the decision was based on "expediency
not principle." The big problem was trying to use judicial power to
settle a major political problem. Although the Dred Scott decision may
have been the result of a trial , in reality it was a case of the
court battling with the complex issue of slavery, especially in the
territories, in the mid l800's.
In order to tell the story of a slave you have to tell the
story of his master. The slave does not have an identity or history of
his own. In Virginia, Peter Blow and his family had many slaves. Among
these slaves was a young man named Sam, or as we know him today, Dred
Scott. Peter Blow decided to move his estate to Alabama and then to
the thriving port city of St. Louis. During these years, Dred
married and had a child. After the death of the Blows, Dred was sold
to Dr. Emerson, an army surgeon. He and Scott traveled through
Illinois and Minnesota. When Dr. Emerson died , Dred Scott was sent
back to St. Louis to Mrs. Emerson. This was when Scott argued that
under the terms of the Missouri Compromise, the fact that he and Dr.
Emerson lived in Illinois and Minnesota made him a free man. The
Missouri Compromise did not allow slavery in whatever territory that
remained from the Louisiana Purchase north of a specific line, 36o 30'
of north latitude.
At this time the issue of slavery was a major concern. The
Mexican War provided the United States with a lot of new territory,
and the question of the future of slavery in the territories was on
everyones mind. The people of the North who were against slavery
wanted Congress to prohibit slavery in the territories....
To view the complete essay, you be registered.