...Dred Scott vs. Sanford: The Dred Scott vs. Sanford case is one of the most important cases that have ever been tried in the United States of America and was heard in the Old Courthouse of St. Louis. This case that is usually known as the Dred Scott Decision was a ruling by the Supreme Court of America that African people imported into the country and detained as slaves were not protected by the U.S Constitution and could never be American citizens. Dred Scott was a slave who sued for his freedom from his master in a Missouri court in the year 1846. As part of his arguments, Dred Scott claimed that he resided in Illinois which was a free state and part of the Louisiana Territory. Therefore, he claimed that he was a free man because of his residence in a free territory in which slavery was prohibited by the 1820 Missouri Compromise (“Dred Scott v. Sanford” par, 1). However, Dred Scott’s suit for freedom in the local federal court in Missouri was unsuccessful. Eleven years later after his initial suit in the Missouri court, Scott brought a new suit in the United States’ Supreme Court. This was after the federal court ordered the jury to depend on Missouri law for the conclusion of the case regarding Scott’s freedom. Additionally, Scott decided to appeal to the United States’ Supreme Court following the decision of the Missouri Supreme Court to consider him as a slave. In his defense, Scott’s master maintained that the American Constitution did not allow people of African...
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...course, there are exceptions, especially historical ones. The landmark 1857 case of Dred Scott vs. Sandford is an outstanding example of a Supreme Court decision that was both as horrible as it seems, as well as impactful for a large amount of people in the United States, directly. This paper will analyze the Dred Scott decision,...
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...Dred Scott vs. Sanford case was a very big deal. This issue dealt with a very serious subject of the time. This subject is slavery. Slavery was a very serious and important part of our history and past. Slavery was important because it helped the world realize that no matter color of skin everyone is equal. Dred Scott fought for freedom because he had already been a slave for ten years and sought to live a free life. But at the same time his master Sanford had no intention of losing one of his slaves which he had most likely paid or traded for. Why is the Court Even Hearing it? The Court is hearing this trial because Dred Scott sued for his freedom in the Missouri Courts. And because the compromise of 1820. The treatment of Scott as property and not as a person. Facts and Background of the Case. Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri from the years 1833 to 1843. He...
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...Cases of Racism This Civil Rights Act is a challenge to all of us to go to work in our communities and our states, in our homes and in our hearts, to eliminate the last vestiges of injustice in our beloved country" once said by Lyndon b. Johnson. All through out history their has been times were African Americans were treated poorly like the following (true) historical events that changed or altered the future. The following three are true Dred Scott vs. Sanford, Brown vs. board, and Plessy vs. Ferguson.these three cases all had one thing in common African Americans were being accused because of there color. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Court upheld a Louisiana law requiring restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and other public places to serve African Americans in separate, but ostensibly equal, accommodations. In establishing the separate but equal" doctrine, the Court said that segregation is "universally recognized as within the competency of states in the exercise of their police powers." In the sole dissent, Justice John Marshall Harlan -- a former slaveowner -- said the ruling would "stimulate aggressions, more or less brutal, upon the admitted rights of colored citizens. They were allowed to go in any public place because they saw that it was against the 14th amendment.this was a huge step...
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...Japanese-American Cases (pp. 231-270) Complete ONE of these tasks: (1a; 1b; 1c) 1a) After the attack on Pearl Harbor more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced to live in detention camps and leave the west coast.There are four constitutional cases that connect: Yasui B U.S, Hirabayashi V. United States, Korematsu V United States and Ex parte Endo. When examining these cases the judges did not examine separation but rather examined: curfew, exclusion, detention and indefinite incarceration. In Hirabayashi V. United States Hirabayashi was convicted of violating curfew and not reporting to an...
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...Dred Scott and his wife Harriot were slaves who belonged to the army Dr. Emerson. Over the course of their enslavement Dr. Emerson traveled with them throughout states in the Northern region were slavery was prohibited. Scott and his wife eventually settled in St. Louis with the Emerson’s after Emerson retired. In 1846 after Dr. Emerson’s unexpected death Scott filed a petition for his freedom with the St. Louis courts. Scott’s lawyers were dependent on the ruling in the Winny vs. Whiteside case in which determined that slave who was taken by their owners to states that did not allow slavery for extended periods of time should be therefore granted freedom. Many cases tried after the Winny vs Whiteside case such as Rachel vs Walker ruled in favor of the slave on accounts of that decision. Missouri courts also ruled in favor of the slave and in turn granted Scott his freedom. The victory was short lived because in 1849 Emerson’s brother in law filed an appeal with the Missouri Supreme Court and on accounts of the decision made in the Strader vs. Emerson case Scott’s original ruling was overturned and his freedom was revoked by Supreme Court Justice Roger B Taney. In delivering the Supreme Court...
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...the US history was on June 19th, 1862 when the Congress agrees to prohibit slavery in the States, which completely voids the Dred Scott Case. It was an important day because it helped African Americans achieve the rights that they deserved, even though, they never thought they would see the day of gaining these rights. Over the years, these slave’s only hope was to be free. Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri to the Emerson family, but Emerson died in 1846 and that’s when Scott decided to sue for his freedom. The case was ruled in a state court where he lost, but afterwards the case was brought up in a national court. After the case went to national court, Dred Scott lost the case, but was later labeled a free man. Like most things, this Dred Scott case had a lot of positive impacts, as well as some negative impacts. Some impacts include the Republican Party grew more firm because they strongly opposed the courts ruling; and it forced the abolitionist to discard slavery as well and all this tension leads to the civil war. A couple extreme impacts from the Dred Scott Case is it leading to a couple fights, such as Bleeding Kansas, and it also led to the Panic of 1857. Even with these troubles, it seemed worth it because it caused...
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...and rights of African Americans and each major decision has had a major impact on the American Society. Three Supreme Court decisions in response to cases filed by African Americans have impacted America more than any other decisions and also highlight the gradual development of equal rights in the United States. In 1857 when tensions over slavery ran high, the Dred Scott v. Sanford decision divided the nation into two camps – slavery and antislavery and this ultimately contributed to the Civil War in 1861. Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 was a major setback in race decisions allowing African Americans to be discriminated...
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...accordance with their plan to slowly kill off slavery by not allowing new states to be free, were against the idea of Missouri being a slave state, while Southerners used a state's rights argument. They reasoned that, like the original thirteen states, new states should be able to decide the issue of slavery for themselves. In the end, both sides reached a compromise. In the immediate future, so the states were not unbalanced, Maine became a free state, and going forward no state north of the...
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...He was a U.S representative for Illinois from 1847- 1849, he had criticized the Mexican- American war which made him unpopular, and therefore he did not want to run again for office. In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska act was put in place, which let the states decide if they wanted slavery. In 1856 Lincoln joined the Republican Party. In 1857, he challenged U.S senator Stephen Douglas for his seat, because of his Scott vs Sanford case; which stated that African Americans had no rights. Lincoln disagreed with this he believed “all men were created with inalienable rights.” Lincoln also criticized the Supreme Court as well as the President, for promoting slavery, he stated “a house dived cannot stand.” He began to organize a campaign for presidency in 1860. His cabinet was as strong as ever. It consisted of his most known rivals, this is where the quote “Hold your friends close, but your enemies closer,” came from. The Civil War began during his presidency, because of how Lincoln wanted to end slavery and give rights to African Americans. He stood strongly by his troops and his cabinet even though they had a lot of disagreements. He declared the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1 1862. This proclamation stated that individuals that were held slaves, “hence forward shall be free.” The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, when Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union troops. Reconstruction...
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...Three lifelines of the American tree The political scenario in America consists of three institutions- the Congress (legislative), President (executive) and the Supreme Court (judiciary) which acts as safeguards to counterbalance each other. The appearance of the congress has changed significantly since Independence. At its beginning it consisted of a party of Federalists who believed in maintaining a strong central government while it now consists of the Republican and Democratic parties served by self-serving “career” politicians guided by the interest of their districts over the country. “Government created because of the passion of men does not conform to dictates of reason and justice”. (Hamilton) Alexander Hamilton was a staunch believer in the power of the federal government in a time when states had large debts, the military was weak and the influence of foreign powers threatened the thirteen colonies. In this timeframe it was widely believed that an aristocratic minority could take care of the interests of the majority. In the interest of a stronger federal government the framers even had to tolerate the southern slave owning states to maintain a robust alliance of a united thirteen states (Dahl). The power of the government to some extent was reduced in a few years due to growing demand of individualism and non-interference from government. This led to the complete decline of the Federalists and the emergence of the Republicans who stood for individual...
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...Historical Timeline and Essay Michael Meisenheimer AAGN10AA62 December 11, 2011 Kelly Cantrell Historical Timeline and Essay Timeline 1793 Eli Whitney Invents the Modern Cotton Gin Slavery was becoming less and less profitable in the South prior to 1793. One reason was because cotton was not a profitable crop for farmers because preparing it for sale was so labor intensive. Eli Whitney's cotton gin turned cotton into a profitable crop and raised the demand of slaves in the South to grow it. This coincided with the North becoming a more industrialized region that didn't need to depend on slaves. 1819 Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was brokered by Senator Henry Clay to settle the dispute between the North and the South about if the Western territories would be slave or free. Under the terms of the Compromise, slavery would only be allowed in Missouri and south of the 36th parallel. The need for the Missouri Compromise illustrates how the North and the South were beginning to hold very different views on how allowable slavery was to the nation. Bitter feelings about the compromise persisted in both the North and the South. 1828 The Nullification Crisis The Nullification Crisis grew out of a protective tariff of 1828. The tariff was popular with the Northern states, because it provided protection for American made goods. Southern states traded heavily with Great Britain during this time, and felt it would damage their economies. With the support...
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...DBQ: Nationalism & Sectionalism By John A. Braithwaite DIRECTIONS: The following DBQ is based upon the accompanying documents and your knowledge of the time period involved. This question tests your ability to work with historical documents. Your answer should be derived mainly from the documents, however, you may refer to historical facts, materials, and developments NOT mentioned in the documents. You should assess the reliability of the documents as historical sources where relevant to your answer. Check your school and community libraries for materials and also, surf the internet to help you find relevant outside information. QUESTION FOR ANALYSIS: In the period from 1815 to 1858, two giant forces—nationalism and sectionalism--ostensibly in opposition to each other—prevailed simultaneously in the first half of 19th century America. Describe these two forces and discuss the geographic, political, constitutional, economic, and diplomatic contrasts of both forces. PROMPT: Formulate a thesis statement Use documents as well as your own outside knowledge of the period. Deal evenly with all aspects of the questions Be sure to cover the time period given • Assess the validity of the documents • Draw effective and specific conclusions whenever possible TEXTBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS Gillon & Matson The American Experiment Boydston & McGerr Making A Nation Murrin, et.al Liberty, Equality, Power Norton...
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...Brooke Baker A.P US History Court Cases I. Marbury v. Madison a) Issue: i) Judicial v. Executive and Congressional Power ii) Judicial review/separation of powers b) Background: i) 1803 ii) In his last few hours in office, President John Adams made a series of “midnight appointments” to fill as many government posts as possible with Federalists. One of these appointments was William Marbury as a federal justice of the peace. However, Thomas Jefferson took over as President before the appointment was officially given to Marbury. Jefferson, a Republican, instructed Secretary of State James Madison to not deliver the appointment. Marbury sued Madison to get the appointment he felt he deserved. He asked the Court to issue a writ of mandamus, requiring Madison to deliver the appointment. The Judiciary Act, passed by Congress in 1789, permitted the Supreme Court of the United States to issue such a writ iii) Supreme Court must decide constitutionality of Judiciary Act c) Decision: i) John Marshall declares Judiciary Act unconstitutional ii) The Supreme Court has the right of judiciary review d) Significance: i) Impact of Marshall Court ii) Strengthened the judiciary in relation to other branches of government iii) Allows Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution and declare laws unconstitutional II. McCulloch v. Maryland a) Issue: i) Supremacy v. State Rights ...
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...Ricci v. DeStefano Jennifer Drab Baker College Abstract Ricci v. DeStefano is case based on reverse discrimination. The New Haven firefighters that brought this suit against the city did so on the belief that the city in its efforts to avoid litigation violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Reverse discrimination is a term that is used widely; however, it is very difficult to move forward with this claim in a court of law. The New Haven firefighters that brought the suit had their case heard before the Supreme Court of the United States. This was not a case that the justices took lightly; they asked many difficult questions, which looked at many different aspects of Title VII. The answer from the high court is that rejecting the test scores in fear of Title VII litigation is not grounds enough to disqualify candidates that qualified for promotion. In the end, the high court upheld the firefighters claim that the city’s rejection of the exam scores violated the rights of those that qualified based on the exam. Introduction Ricci v. DeStefano, is case of reverse discrimination within the fire department of New Haven, Connecticut. This case is an illustration that affirmative action does not always result in fairness. New Haven city officials created a very comprehensive written examination for testing those fire fighters that were looking to be promoted to captain and lieutenant (Epstein, 2009). Unfortunately, the examination showed that there was disparity...
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