Dred Scott V. Sandford Case Analysis

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Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri who lived in the free state of Illinois from 1833 to 1843. He later returned to Missouri and sued the Missouri courts for his freedom in 1846. His argument with state courts was that because he lived in a free state, he was a free man. This was unsuccessful and the case was appealed . Scott then brought his case to the federal courts. Unfortunately the verdict was the same and it was ruled that Scott was still considered a slave in the state of Missouri. Scott appealed his case several times and it was brought all the way up to the Supreme Court. The lower court verdicts ruled that Scott, even having lived in a free state for almost 10 years, was still considered a slave in the state of Missouri. The outrage from Scott and his defense led to an appeal to a higher court , but just like before the verdict remained the same and Scott was not granted his freedom. The appeals continued leading to the Supreme Court case of Dred Scott vs. Sandford in 1853. The arguments for and against on both sides stayed the same in this racially fueled trial. It took the court nearly a full year to go over all of the facts and come to a decision. Almost all of the Supreme Court Justices involved in the trial were for slavery and this posed an enormous threat to Scott’s …show more content…
For most of the southern states the decision seemed far and was the outcome most of them had hoped for. For the free states protestors deemed the decision unjust and wrong. It was seen as unconstitutional and to this day the Dred Scott vs. Sandford decision is seen as one of the worst Supreme Court displays in history. It showed just how incredibly racist the United States were and what an almost impossible task it was for freed slaves to really have their freedom. Also the protests began several early civil rights movements in the south in an attempt to end

Dred Scott V. Sandford Case Analysis

In the Dred Scott v. Sandford case (argued 1856 - decided 1857), the Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The Supreme argued that Scott's status as a citizen of a free state under the Missouri Compromise did not give him status as a U.S. citizen. While states were free to create their own citizenship criteria, the Constitution only gives Congress authority to define national citizenship. The Court…

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Dred Scott V. Sandford Case Analysis

Dred Scott was a slave in the U.S.A. who sued his owner unsuccessfully for his freedom in the famous Dred Scott vs. Sandford case in 1856 This was the first time in history where a slave sue for his freedom and the case went all the way to the supreme court The decision of the Supreme Court stated that because Scott was black, he was not a U.S.A. citizen he had no rights to sued his master or anyone else because he wasn’t considered a human, he was more like a property someone owned , also Federal…

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Dred Scott V. Sandford Case Analysis

during the Dred Scott v. Sandford case, issuing a decision, and affirming the right of slave owners to take their slaves into the Western territories. Dred Scott was a former slave who fought for his freedom through the Supreme Court. His owner took him along to free states for long periods of time and “Scott argued that living in Illinois, a free state, and Wisconsin, a free territory, had made his family free,” (Roark, 371). Regardless of his claim, the Court strongly ruled against Dred Scott and forced…

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Dred Scott V. Sandford Case Analysis

Dred Scott v. Sandford This case involved a man named Dred Scott. Scott was a slave and lived in the slave state known as Missouri. In 1834 Illinois was considered a free state due to the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Also in the year 1834, Scott was purchased by a white man, and then moved to Illinois with his new owner. The dream was too short for Scott because Scott and his owner eventually returned to Missouri. Dred Scott felt that because he had lived in Illinois, a free slave territory, he should…

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