The 14th Amendment

The 14th Amendment 157 years ago, when slavery was an on-going issue, an African-American slave came upon the notion that he should be considered a freed man. His reason for feeling such way was simple. He had been living in Illinois for an extended period of time. Illinois at the time was a free state, meaning that it had prohibited slavery. With the help of a group of people who opposed slavery, he set out to try and become a freed man. This man’s case was presented to the Supreme Court March 6, 1857. This man’s name was Dred Scott. According to Dred Scott and the Dangers of a Political Court By Ethan Greenberg, Dred Scott unsuccessfully tried to sue for his freedom. His case was presented to the Supreme Court. After the case had been presented to the court a decision was handed down. This decision would come to be a very well-known decision as well as the worst decision of the time. The decision was handed down by a one Chief Justice Roger Taney. Chief Justice Taney stated that, in regards to the “The Missouri Compromise”, the affirmative of those propositions could not be maintained. Therefore it was considered unconstitutional and void. (Pg.121-144) According to Wikipedia, Chief Justice Taney also stated, in reference to “the Constitution” as written in 1787, that the authors of the document viewed blacks as beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations, and so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect. The court also presented what was called a “parade of horribles.” In short these are the reasons Dred Scott’s case was denied and where the “Dred Scott Decision” was born. (Dred Scott vs. Sandford, Wikipedia.) Following this decision, came the “American Civil War”, also known as the “War of Rebellion. According to the “Encyclopedia Brittanica” the secession of the Southern states and the ensuing outbreak of armed hostilities were the