(Scott Decision (S), Civil War, And Emancipation Proclamation (1861)

Through evaluating both the lectures derived from the text and the book itself, everybody can distinctly detect the Dred Scott decision (1830’s), Civil War (1861), and Emancipation Proclamation (1863) are the three most important aspects covered in unit two. The Dred Scott decision claimed that Dred and his family must remain slaves based on the fact that just because he was on “free soil” it does not make him free. Because of the color of his skin, he is deemed property and according to the Supreme Court, “Had no rights which the white man was bound to respect,” (Foner, 2014, 389-390). Not even the founders of the Constitution believed that slaves or former slaves were even considered human. For this reason, I think that this particular case is the most important fact taught.
The Civil War showed how America revolutionized the North creating factories to mass produce weapons. This so called revolution is a symbol that at a drop of a hat we are ready to fight for what we believe in no matter the cost. Lastly, the Emancipation Proclamation set forth the freedom of the slaves due to the North’s lack in military success. Even though the act of freedom was nothing other than to benefit the “white” man, we still eventually freed them (Foner, 2014, 413). For me, that is a major part of the lesson learned in this class because we still need to learn from our past mistakes. For instance, racial profiling and racist acts are still prevalent in today’s society. We all need to take a step back and look at how to solve the problem at