DRED SCOTT CASE JESSI PALKOVIC - JACKSON STEPHENS - WILLIAM UNMISIG POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY on the

DRED SCOTT VS. SANDFORD BACKGROUND – Dred Scott was a slave – Was a slave in Missouri but moved to Illinois with his master – Transition from slave state to free state – Then moved back to Missouri – Scott believed that since he had lived in a free state he should be free

CONTINUED… In 1854, he was sued in federal court for freedom Court ruled against him He appealed to the Supreme Court

RULING IN THE SUPREME COURT The Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not and could never be citizens Chief Justice Roger B. Taney stated, “When a plantiff sues in a court of the United States, it is necessary that he should show, in his pleading, that the suit he brings is within the jurisdiction of the court, and that he is entitled to sue there…” They believed that since Scott was not a citizen he had no right to file lawsuit Remained enslaved

DISSENTER OF THE RULING “ I dissent, therefore, from that part of the opinion of the majority of the court, in which it is held that a person of African descent cannot be a citizen of the United States.” – ASSOCIATE JUSTICE BENJAMIN R. CURTIS

LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES Lincoln attempted to make Douglas appear to be a defender of slavery Douglas, on the other hand, accused Lincoln of being an abolitionist Lincoln responded by stating, “I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black races.” He insisted that slavery was wrong on many levels

POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY AFTER THE DRED SCOTT DECISION T HE N ORTH WAS STUNNED BY THE DECISION – Believed that it struck down the Missouri Compromise – Believed it extended slavery G AVE THEM HOPE IN THE R EPUBLICAN P ARTY – Whom they believed could keep slavery in check

SOUTH’S VEIW Southerners were for the courts decision Supreme Court struck down the Missouri Compromise – CLEARED THE WAY FOR EXTENSION OF SLAVERY Southerners were against the Republican Party – REPUBLICANS WERE THE ONLY ONES THAT COULD STOP THE EXTENSION OF SLAVERY

OVERALL… Dred Scott Decision was a victory to the South in an important battle over slavery The decision basically made the Missouri Compromise obsolete It was now up to the Republicans to keep slavery in check

Works Cited Gienapp, William E. The Civil War and Reconstruction: a Documentary Collection. New York: W.W. Norton, Print. Danzer, Gerald A. McDougal Littell The Americans. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, Print