Dred Scott Decision

American  

[dred] / ˌdrɛd ˈskɒt dɪˈsɪʒ ən /

noun

1. ScottScott, Dred2

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Dred Scott decision Cultural  

1. A controversial ruling made by the Supreme Court in 1857, shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. Dred Scott, a slave, sought to be declared a free man on the basis that he had lived for a time in a “free” territory with his master. The Court decided that, under the Constitution, Scott was his master's property and was not a citizen of the United States. The Court also declared that the Missouri Compromise, which prohibited slavery in certain areas, unconstitutionally deprived people of property — their slaves. The Dred Scott decision was a serious blow to abolitionists (see abolitionism).

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Example Sentences

In the old Boston days he had discussed freely in the pulpit such themes as the "Free Soil Movement," "The Fugitive Slave Law," and "The Dred Scott Decision."

From Starr King in California by Simonds, William Day

By the irony of fate it was Chief Justice Taney of the Dred Scott Decision who inaugurated Lincoln into office, that Lincoln might later make Taney's decision forever null and void.

From The Battle of Principles A Study of the Heroism and Eloquence of the Anti-Slavery Conflict by Hillis, Newell Dwight

Dred Scott Decision, 197-200; Lincoln's opposition to, 198-199; weakened respect for Supreme Court, 198.

From Lincoln, the Politician by Levy, T. Aaron

When Mr. Douglas concluded to become a Presidential candidate, he broached a theory of constitutional interpretation for which he may have found some support in the Dred Scott Decision.

From Reminiscences of Sixty Years in Public Affairs, Vol. 2 by Boutwell, George S.

Senator Baker of Oregon—one of his old Springfield friends—formally presented him, and after he had read his address, the aged Chief Justice Taney, who had written the Dred Scott Decision, administered the oath of office.

From Life of Abraham Lincoln Little Blue Book Ten Cent Pocket Series No. 324 by Haldeman-Julius, E. (Emanuel)