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

I heard of the Dred Scott Decision, and thought J.P.

From Vandemark's Folly by Quick, Herbert

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.

Douglas, Stephen A., Senator: Lincoln's opposition to, xvi; attitude of, on the Dred Scott Decision, opposed by Lincoln, 42.

From The Poets' Lincoln Tributes in Verse to the Martyred President by Oldroyd, Osborn H. (Osborn Hamiline)

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

The alienation of the Afro-American from his government was dramatically underscored and justified in 1857 by the Dred Scott Decision which was handed down by the Supreme Court.

From The Black Experience in America by Coombs, Norman