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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.