The case involved the Constitutional interpretation of the state of African Americans in the U.S.A. The petitioner indulged the court to grant him his freedom after his slave master took him to the free -states and territories. It was decided by the Supreme Court on the 6th of March 1857. The petitioner was Dred Scott a slave owned by a couple. The couple, Dr. Emerson and Mrs. Sanford moved with Dred from Illinois to Louisiana. According to the federal law, the use of Dred Scott for slavery purposes was illegal as Louisiana was a free state which did not observe the institution of slavery. In that regard, the court ought to have granted Dred his freedom.
However, the Supreme Court, by a 7-2 decision overwhelmingly went against the spirit of the law. The Court ruled that Dred was not an American citizen. In that context, the court was of the view that African American slaves were not citizens. Consequently, they could not enjoy the fruits granted to the citizens. In addition, the court ruled that federal statutes could not purport to regulate slavery in the states acquired after the union (creation of the United States of America). This ruling went into historical records as the most retrogressive decision by the Supreme Court. The jurisprudence laid in the case initiated further struggles for freedom. It was an overt indictment of the court. The court was clearly not going to aid in the struggle for the slaves’ freedom. Consequently, the case informed part of the catalysts for the American Civil War whose outcome was the proclamation of independence by Abraham Lincoln hence freedom for the slaves.
Works Cited
Knight, P. (2009). Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia. New York: ABC-CLIO.
