Dred Scott V. Sanford Case Analysis

In the years leading up to the Civil War, the constitution did not provide a clear answer for deciding whether or not a slave had the same rights as a person. The federal government faced a divided country, and passed laws enforcing the return of slaves to their owner’s states, such as the Fugitive Slave Act. Contradicting this were “personal liberty laws,” which allowed states to decide who would be considered a person in their territory. However, both the Fugitive Slave Act and “personal liberty laws” were challenged in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case. The ambiguity of the constitution would lead to a four-year-long war between the Northern and Southern states. The Fugitive Slave Clause is explained in article 4 section 2 of the Constitution;