Dred Scott Case Essay

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In the year of 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court came with a decision in the Dred Scott case, stating to take their slaves into Western territory. This was one of the most controversial case that bloomed and had a big impact on the history of slavery. The main points in this event consist of the implications on the topics such as the status of slavery in the United States, the concept of Popular Sovereignty, and the future of slavery in America. As self-explanatory in the name of the case, Dred Scott plays a big role. But, who is Dred Scott? Dred Scott v. Stanford was a black slave, who lived with his master for five years in Illinois and Wisconsin territory which were both free states at the time of Scott’s residence. The Supreme Court was all in favor of the slave states. Five of the nine justices were from the South while a man, Robert Grier of Pennsylvania, was committed to pro-slavery. On March 6, 1857, as Scott fought for his freedom, the court held that he was not free based on his residence in either Illinois or Wisconsin due to not being considered a person under the United States Constitution. According to the opinions of the justices, African American people were not considered citizens …show more content…
The idea of Popular Sovereignty is the belief that the authority, legality and legitimacy of the government is created by the will or consent of it’s people. How was the event affected by the concept of popular sovereignty? It was questioned that if Congress could not exclude slaves from a territory, how could a territorial legislature do it? At some point, until statehood was granted, slavery was seemed as unprofaned as freedom of religion, speech, or any type of civil liberty guaranteed by the constitution. The way the Dred Scott Case affected the concept was that people felt that they had the right to either reject or accept slavery. However, the Supreme Court decision negated popular

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