Dred Scott Case and Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Dred Scott Case

• Google is often wrong about the outcome of the Dred Scott case.
• Dred Scott did not win his freedom through the court case.
• The court case ruled against him.
• Dred Scott and his wife Harriet were owned by a man who traveled frequently. They lived in both free states and territories.
• They resided for extended periods in:
  • Illinois (a free state).
  • Wisconsin (a free territory).
• After the owner's death, Dred and Harriet Scott argued they should be freed due to their prolonged residence in free territories.
• The case went to the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Roger Taney.
• Roger Taney was a Southern man who believed in state rights and was pro-slavery.
• Taney's Ruling:
  • Dred Scott, as a non-citizen, could not bring a case to the Supreme Court.
  • Slaves were considered personal property, comparable to land, horses, and cattle. Owners could take their property anywhere.
  • Declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.
• The Missouri Compromise defined territories as either slave or free, with the exception of Missouri.
  • Everything above the line: Free
  • Everything below the line: Slave
• Taney's decision eliminated the division of the country into free and slave states.
• This ruling enraged the free states, as it invalidated their self-determination.
• The decision implied that slavery could exist anywhere in the United States.
• The Dred Scott decision became a breaking point, pushing the country closer to civil war.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

• The Lincoln-Douglas debates concerned an Illinois Senate seat. Stephen Douglas was the incumbent senator.
• Abraham Lincoln challenged Douglas for the seat, running as a Republican (likely).
• Lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery into the West.
• Stephen Douglas supported allowing slavery in the West through popular sovereignty.
• These debates gained national attention and were reported widely in newspapers.
• Stephen Douglas won the Senate seat.
• Abraham Lincoln gained national recognition and popularity through the debates.
• The South viewed Lincoln's rise as evidence that Republicans aimed to abolish slavery.
• The North saw Lincoln as a strong voice against slavery.
• These debates significantly contributed to the growing divide and eventual Civil War.