Dred Scott Reflection

During this paper I will confront the three most important things that I learned throughout the class. I will then discuss why Dred Scott had the greatest impact in shaping America and in shaping the future of the Supreme Court’s decisions. The first most important thing that I learned throughout the class was that just because the Supreme Court reached the right result does not mean that they did it through the proper means. An example of this is Miranda V Arizona. Once Miranda was decided the Supreme Court created a rule that the police had to follow. However, because of this strict rule, repeatedly cases arose that questioned this rule and required a separate ruling. After many of these cases the procedure the police have to follow
Throughout the class this was a reoccurring theme, nine unelected lawyers determine a decision that could change the face of our nation. This can be seen in many of the more controversial Supreme Court decisions. For example, if Plessy V Ferguson would have been decided differently the nation would look entirely different. With the immense power that the Supreme Court has and its ability to shape the nation it is not worth the risk that they may get a decision wrong. Rather they should leave a lot of these decisions up to the legislators because if the legislators get something wrong their constituents will have sway and may be able to get it changed. Whereas, if the Supreme Court makes a decision it sets precedent and are therefore setting policy for the nation as unelected legislators. With this ability to set policy and precedent it is dangerous that we give them this ability with almost no
Without the Dred Scott decision the American Civil War may not have happened for some years later and once it finally occurred we might not have had the leadership of Abraham Lincoln. This case was decided at a point in time when tensions were at a breaking point. With the decision it allowed for the Whig party to ultimately dissolve paving the way for the Republican Party and with it one of the greatest presidents of all time. However, not only was this case influential in the Civil War but it also introduced the idea of substantive due process which subsequently paved the way for many of the Supreme Courts decisions. Substantive due process is the idea that the Court can define what freedom is and whether or not someone is being deprived of that freedom. With this new ability to decide cases it paved the way for many of the more controversial cases, which has resulted in shaping the nation. An example of the use of substantive due process is the Roe V Wade case and also the OBergefell V Hodges case. Through the theory of substantive due process the Court was able to define what freedom was and that both women and same sex couples were being deprived of their freedoms. Without Justice Taney’s inclusion of the theory of Substantive due process these cases may have been decided differently, or the Court may have recognized