An Analysis of the Dred Scott Decision and The People Vs. Hall

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The People vs. Hall and Dread Scott Decision both were very interesting cases. Their similarities zoomed to expose the preamble of the Constitution and make the authors of it think over what they meant by "all men are created equal." This question is still present today, are all men created equal? Or does it mean by men, the white Americans with European decent?

The People vs. Hall was a case of murder in 1854. A white man, George W. Hall, was blamed for a murder. A Chinese man was the witness of this murder. The Californian court, however, basing their decision on the belief that the Chinese are an inferior race, did not allow the Chinese man to testify against the murderer. The court stated that their decision was based on the Act of April 15th, 1850, which stated that "No black or mulatto person, or Indian, shall be allowed to give evidence in favor of, or against a white man." The outcome of this act let Hall walk away a free man.

Another similar case was the Dred Scott Decision. Dred Scott, being a black man during the 1820's, was yet again considered inferior to bring his case to the court. From a reader's point of view, Dred Scott's case was very legit. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 made Scott a free man. All of the blacks going through the 35'36 altitude/latitude line were said to be free men. When Dred Scott entered Illinois, he entered thinking he was a free man, until his owner assaulted him upon the return. Dred Scott did his best to bring not one but three assault cases to the court against his "owner", John F. A. Sanford; however, the court dismissed him as inferior to take any participation or even demand a fair trial. The court also called upon the Missouri Compromise as unconstitutional because of deprivation of personal property, which in this case was Dred Scott - a property of John Sanford. Eventually the sons of Sanford purchased Scott and his wife, and set them free. Scott died just a year after that.

Both of these cases show the reader that the exact meaning of the lines in the Constitution that read "All men are

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