LAD #14- Dred Scott Decision

The Dred Scott Decision had a lot to do with the constitutionality of the Missouri Compromise and if the United States was going to go according to the laws of the Missouri Compromise or write new laws. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney was the spokesperson for the court. This decision spread across the country, and it forced people to take a side on the issue of slavery and how far each state should go in deciding this question for themselves. Only two days after Buchanan’s inauguration, everyone filed into the courthouse to hear the decision made by Taney. He raised the question of whether a black can be given the rights of a normal American citizen, and be entitled to the privileges held by these citizens. Another one of these rights was the right to sue, and he stated that blacks did not even have this right, so it was unconstitutional that Dred Scott was even suing them in the first place. Also, they designated Dred Scott as a piece of property. Therefore, he said that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. They were still slaves because they were bought in a slave holding state, and would thus remain enslaved. Since Scott was purchased in Missouri and Missouri was a slave holding state, he was a slave.