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Analyzing The Dred Scott Decision Of 1857

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Analyzing The Dred Scott Decision Of 1857
The Dred Scott decision of 1857 is one of the most famous Supreme Court decisions because it declared that slaves could never become citizens of the United States. The Court’s 6-3 decision stated that the Constitution could not protect blacks and “blacks had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.” Since slaves could never become citizens they had no right to sue and Dred Scott remained a slave. The courts reputation following this decision plummeted to an all time low in the North and now Republicans of the time viewed the court as controlled by the Slave Power. During the 1830’s Dred Scott had traveled from Missouri to Illinois, where slavery had been prohibited by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Scott sued for his freedom,
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