The Dred Scott Decision Summary
The Dred Scott Decision: Opinion and Evidence
Kay
African American History Before 1877
Professor LaTasha Gatling
10 October 2014
In Revisiting Dred Scott: Prudence, Providence, and the Limits of Constitutional Statesmanship, Justin Buckley Dyer argues “According to the opinion written by Chief Justice Roger Taney, African slaves and their descendants were not, and could never become, citizens of the United States,”1 rejecting that President Abraham Lincoln meant any less, when he “declared Taney’s opinion to be ‘erroneous”2 could endure modern scrutiny. During the framing and development of the early American United States, slavery and its transition into legalized freedom constantly challenged its opponents …show more content…
What poses antagonism, are arguments over whether that decision was just, fair, or moral. In the mindful opinion of this writer, the legal conclusion was completely unethical. Abraham Lincoln delivered a series of oppositional speeches and declarations after the fact. Dyer’s article assigns a commentary which discusses how certain modern scholars try and paint Lincoln’s sentiment another way, against what he truly felt about the situation, and his true moral disgust. Dyer emphasizes that Lincoln had a huge respect for the law, and legal principles based upon natural law, truth, and fairness.9 Dyer states of Lincoln’s love of the law, prior to Dred Scott, as “A younger Lincoln had taught that respect for law – even bad law – was the central doctrine in American civil religion…In a his famous Lyceum Speech in 1838, Lincoln declared, ‘Let ever American, every lover of liberty,”10 never violate the country’s laws. But even then, prior to Dred Scott in that same speech, Lincoln distinguishes that some laws are so badly legislated and need immediate repeal. The national debate, after the dust of the Dred Scott decision had dispersed, centered upon “the territorial question of slavery.”11 Thus, proving judicial authority can falter, in terms of ethics and legal balance, the Dred Scott Decision remains a hot topic among historians and
Kay
African American History Before 1877
Professor LaTasha Gatling
10 October 2014
In Revisiting Dred Scott: Prudence, Providence, and the Limits of Constitutional Statesmanship, Justin Buckley Dyer argues “According to the opinion written by Chief Justice Roger Taney, African slaves and their descendants were not, and could never become, citizens of the United States,”1 rejecting that President Abraham Lincoln meant any less, when he “declared Taney’s opinion to be ‘erroneous”2 could endure modern scrutiny. During the framing and development of the early American United States, slavery and its transition into legalized freedom constantly challenged its opponents …show more content…
What poses antagonism, are arguments over whether that decision was just, fair, or moral. In the mindful opinion of this writer, the legal conclusion was completely unethical. Abraham Lincoln delivered a series of oppositional speeches and declarations after the fact. Dyer’s article assigns a commentary which discusses how certain modern scholars try and paint Lincoln’s sentiment another way, against what he truly felt about the situation, and his true moral disgust. Dyer emphasizes that Lincoln had a huge respect for the law, and legal principles based upon natural law, truth, and fairness.9 Dyer states of Lincoln’s love of the law, prior to Dred Scott, as “A younger Lincoln had taught that respect for law – even bad law – was the central doctrine in American civil religion…In a his famous Lyceum Speech in 1838, Lincoln declared, ‘Let ever American, every lover of liberty,”10 never violate the country’s laws. But even then, prior to Dred Scott in that same speech, Lincoln distinguishes that some laws are so badly legislated and need immediate repeal. The national debate, after the dust of the Dred Scott decision had dispersed, centered upon “the territorial question of slavery.”11 Thus, proving judicial authority can falter, in terms of ethics and legal balance, the Dred Scott Decision remains a hot topic among historians and