Dred+Scott+Decision

=__**Dred Scott Decision**__ = = Yuliya Kiperberg And Fiorella Portal - Venturi =



__** Civil War **__ In the spring of 1861, decades of boiling tensions between the northern and southern United States over issues including states' rights versus federal authority, westward expansion and slavery, exploded into the American Civil War (1861 - 1865).

[|Primary Source: Documentation Of Dred Scott Case]

__** Dred Scott Decision Summary **__ Dred Scott first went to trial to sue for his freedom in 1847. Ten years later, after a decade of appeals and court reversals, his case was finally brought before the United States Supreme Court. In what is perhaps the most infamous case in its history, the court decided that all people of African ancestry -- slaves as well as those who were free -- could never become citizens of the United States and therefore could not sue in federal court. The court also ruled that the federal government did not have the power to prohibit slavery in its territories. Scott, needless to say, remained a slave.



**__Why The Dred Scott Decision Is The Real Cause Of The Civil War__** The Dred Scott Decision brought on much controversy between the Africans and the white Americans. The Africans weren't considered citizens of the United States of America despite their origin, whether they were born in America or not. Lack of citizenship prohibited the Africans from filing a lawsuit to the Supreme Court. This angered the slave states in the South of America. They started to rebel, and fight for their rights. Politically speaking, the case of Dred Scott heightened the tensions between slaved and free people causing arguments and disagreements. The Dred Scott Decision intensified the slavery debate like no other event in history. The case even questioned the legitimacy of the court. These conflicts promoted violence, disputes, and hostility that eventually led to the Civil War.

Following the Civil War this case was pointed to as an important lesson on the limits of the Supreme Court's power, as a key step on the road to the Civil War and as one of the worst decisions ever made by the Supreme Court.