The Dred Scott Decision

History > U.S. Impending Crisis, 1848-1860
History > U.S. The Young Nation 1800-1848
Law > Historic Trials

An analysis of the facts of the Dred Scott decision, its role in American history, and an analysis of the majority opinion.

5,907 words () | 7 sources | APA | 2002 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the facts of the Dred Scott vs. Sanford decision, including an in-depth review of the facts of the case and a legal analysis of the majority opinion. The paper also discusses the dissenting opinions in the case and takes the position that Chief Justice Taney, in writing the decision, was justified in ruling in the way he did.

From the Paper:

"Certainly one of the most controversial and well-known Supreme Court decisions in the history of the United States is the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford. Historians and legal scholars have debated this decision for over a century and many have taken an increasingly negative view of Chief Justice Roger Taney. Some view the decision as one of the major causes of the War Between the States. This paper examines the history of Dred Scott's case and provides an analysis of both the majority and the minority opinions in the case. After an in-depth analysis of the case as well as its historical context, we are left with the conclusion that Chief Justice Taney's majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sanford is merely a reflection of the way in which he interprets the Constitution and is not the legal and moral outrage that historians and modern jurists claim it to be."