LAD #15

Summary: The Supreme Court's Decision re: Dred Scott Case

The Dred Scott case created a huge controversy at the beginning of James Buchanan's presidency regarding slavery. Dred Scott had been a slave to a man named Emerson. However, they were living in free territory. Scott believed that because he had been living in free territory for a number of years, he had the right to be a free man. He took this case to court, but Chief Justice Taney ruled against Scott. Taney said that Scott could not possibly win the case because he did not even have the right to take the case to court, because blacks were not considered to be United States citizens. Taney also stated that because Scott was the property of Emerson, it did not matter that the Missouri Compromise divided the country into free states and slave states; property could not be taken away from its owner. This decision led the Missouri Compromise to no longer be in effect because it contradicted the Compromise. The Dred Scott case was a blow to many abolitionists who thought they were making headway. It reversed many of the policies they had previously instiuted in order to make strides toward establishing a free country. Many Republicans were also angered by the decision although they eventually gained from it when moderates became Republicans because of Taney's statement. Democrats were generally split; those in the South were in favor of the decision while those in the North were against it.