Dred Scott V. Stanford Case Summary

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Dred Scott v. Stanford was the most fundamental case in American history dealing with the rights of African Americans. This case tested the Missouri Compromise and challenged the issues of slavery and national citizenship. Dred Scott was a slave owned by Dr. John Emerson, who constantly traveled in and out of free and slave states with Scott. Originally Emerson had Scott in Missouri, a slave state, and then moved over to Illinois, a free state, and lastly to Wisconsin territory, also free. While in the Wisconsin territory, Scott married and had two daughters, which was unique due to the fact that slaves in the south were prohibited from being married legally, further validating Scott's implicit freedom. Eventually Emerson moves Scott and his …show more content…

Van Zandt in 1847. An Ohio farmer named John Van Zandt helped a group of fugitive slaves escape in his going north. He was eventually sued by their owner, Wharton Jones, for paying compensation of the slaves he lost. Zandts defensive argument was that since slavery was illegal in northern territories, he cannot be found guilty of helping slaves, thus he would not have to pay compensation. In the end Jones won with the Supreme Court ruling that the government had the power to enforce slavery, further enraging northerners and granting more power to the south. The after affects of the case spark a huge controversial argument between the north and the south. It angers abolitionists and becomes a contributing factor in starting the Civil War. The major outcome of this case was the fourteenth amendment, which granted citizenship to all natural born United States citizens, including African Americans, as well as the thirteenth amendment which completely abolished slavery. Dred Scott v. Sanford is notoriously famous for its pro-slavery verdict which demonstrates the white superiority and racial attitude the Supreme Court had while making the decision. This case was only the first in setting the precedence of the social hardships African Americans had to go through in order to gain civil and human

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