Dred Scott Decision Literature & Language Essay Paper (Essay Sample)

DRED SCOT AND THE AMBOLISHMENT OF SLAVERY
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The Chief justice during Scott vs. Stanford was Rodger Taney. He originated from the south and was the fifth chief justice in American history. He served the longest tenure according to the supreme court history. In our paper, we will look at how his ruling of Scott v Standford affected slavery in American and change history.
In 1856 the chief justice Rodger Taney declared that the slaves and the African Americans were not American citizens, and consequently, they could not take their cases to the courts. He argued that they had no right to interact with the whited either in political or social forums. Dred Scott was, however, set free because he lived in a free state, but he could never become an American citizen. The court decided that the Missouri law that declared abolishment of slavery in all states west of Missouri was unconstitutional and that the congress had no right to interfere in slavery. Taney further mentioned that just because a state was from slavery did not mean that the colored people were citizens, they did not have federal rights.
Dred Scott was a slave to Stanford. Upon the death of Stanford, Dred tried to gain his freedom from Stanford’s wife with no avail. He sued based on Missouri laws that stated a person of any color could sue if they had been wrong enslaved. Another direction said that once a slave has moved to a free state, they are free and can never be enslaved again. Scotts had moved to many free places with Stanford; thus, he was no longer a slave on returning. In filing the complaint, Scott was helped by the church, abolitionist, and Blow family, which owed him since he never had finances or education.[Melvin I Urofsky, “Dred Scott Decision | Definition, History, & Facts,” in Encyclopædia Britannica, September 10, 2018, https://www.britannica.com/event/Dred-Scott-decision.‌] [History.com Editors. “Dred Scott Decision.” HISTORY, February 27, 2019. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/dred-scott-case.]