Dred Scott

**Dred Scott**

 

•     On March 6, 1857, in *Dred Scott v. John Sanford,* after much debate the Supreme Court ruled against Scott 7 to 2, with Chief Justice Roger B. Taney giving the majority opinion. According to Taney, Scott could not sue Sanford because he was not a U.S. citizen. The justice argued that Scott was not a citizen because he was both a black man and a slave. Taney's remarks that black men "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect" came as a severe blow to abolitionists.

Dred Scott (2)

 

•     This crucial decision electrified the country, for Taney had ruled that African Americans were not citizens of the United States and that an act of Congress (the Missouri Compromise of 1820) was unconstitutional.He also had redefined the relationship between the states and the Federal government, making possible the expansion of slavery into the territories. Southerners rejoiced at the verdict; abolitionists denounced it and even went as far as discrediting the legitimacy of the Court itself.

 

The Debates

 

•     Senator Stephen Douglas and challenger Abraham Lincoln met in a series of 7 debates across IL in 1858.

•     Douglas was the champion of popular sovereignty, and Lincoln contended that the nation could not ultimately survive half free and half slave.

Freeport Doctrine

 

•     In one debate, Lincoln set up Douglas by asking if territories could ban slaveowners from having slaves despite the Dred Scott decision.

•     Douglas was trapped, and while his answer won the Senate race, it catapulted Lincoln into national prominence.

Campaign Highlights

 

•     Douglas claimed "Lincoln is a radical abolitionist, Lincoln advocates racial equality, Lincoln wants civil war."

•     Lincoln attacked slavery by noting his natural rights "to eat the bread which he has earned by the sweat of his brow," meaning every black slave should be "my equal, Judge Douglas' equal, and the equal of every living man."

John Brown (again)

 

•     In the late hours of Oct. 16, 1859, Brown and 18 followers left their Virginia farm to seize the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry (now WV)

•     Shooting broke out the next morning; local militia arrived and soon Marines under Col. Robert E. Lee.

•     Most of Brown's followers were killed, and he was captured, convicted, and hung in Dec.

Results of Brown's Raid

 

•     A very strong call went up for a boycott of Northern goods throughout the South.

Causes of The Civil War

 

•     Abraham Lincoln's Election as President in 1860

•     Slavery

•     Moral Issues

•     Sectional Political Interests

•     Sectionalism Economics

The Republicans

 

•     The Republicans were a new party, having formed in 1854, mostly on the basis of opposition to slavery, bringing together some Northern Whigs and Democrats

•     The nominating convention was held in Chicago IL, as part of a deal to prevent well-known Eastern candidates from having any advantages

 

Lincoln's Surprise

 

•     The nominee was expected to be William H. Seward of NY, or possibly Salmon P. Chase of OH, Lincoln of IL, or Simon Cameron from PA

•     Past party affiliations and deals by Seward, Chase, and Cameron enabled Lincoln to win the nomination on the third ballot

•     Lincoln was not even at the convention

Abraham Lincoln, Republican

 

•     Born in Kentucky; moved to Illinois

•     Lawyer in Springfield, IL

•     Lincoln had served one term in the US House

•     Achieved fame debating in 1858 campaigning for the Senate and for a speech in NY

Tenor of the 1858 Debates

 

•     During the debates of 1858, the issue of race was often discussed. During a time period when few believed in racial egalitarianism, Stephen Douglas informed the crowds, "If you desire Negro citizenship…if you desire them to vote on an equality with yourselves… then support Mr. Lincoln and the Black Republican party, who are in favor of the citizenship of the negro."

•     Lincoln countered that he was "not in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races."