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Dred Scott V. Sandford Summary

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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DRED SCOTT V. STANDFORD CASE
“Could a black person be a citizen and therefore sue in federal court? Did the residence in a free state make Scott free? Did Congress possess the power to prohibit slavery in a territory?” (488, Foner) Where the three questions that the Justices addressed when looking at the Dred Scott v. Sandford case of 1857. The Dred Scott v Sanford was the case in which African- American slave, Dred Scott, fought to buy his freedom from Sandford, the wife of his former owner who had passed away. The arguments that led to the decision of the case that would soon make history were both very complex. Dred Scott felt as though he was a free slave due to the fact that before the death of his master Scott accompanied him from the slave state of Missouri, to the free state of Illinois, as well as the free territory of Wisconsin before returning back to Missouri. Therefore making his argument that once an individual enters …show more content…
But essentially, the court divided 6-3.” (488, Foner) Chief Justice Roger B. Taney’s justification was considered the most influential. With Taney leading the United States Supreme Court, the court ruled that “only white persons could be citizens of the United States” (488, Foner) With Scott being an African-American he was automatically excluded from citizenship. The court also ruled that although Scott may have stayed in a free state and within the free territories this did not make him free. “Illinois had no effect on him after his return to Missouri. As for his residence in Wisconsin, Congress possessed no power under the Constitution to bar slavery from a territory.” (488, Foner) Barring anything on slavery was considered a violation of the Fifth Amendment, in which denying property rights without due process of law, is prohibited. All of these rulings lead to the decision that the Missouri Compromise was therefore

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