Courts Matter Then and Now 1
“The worst decision ever rendered by the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS)”, “the greatest self-inflicted wound” .....these are descriptions of the 1857 Dred Scott Decision. It would affect labor and constitutional law for decades and have a profound impact on the growing schism in the USA.
Backstory: The life of a slave was harsh, even under the best of circumstances. To assert that a slave had no rights was an obvious fact in America. By 1857 the deep divide between North and South, slaveholders and abolitionists, Democrats and Republicans was clearly evident.
A man born into slavery, Dred Scott, in Virginia would travel, with different owners through the states of Alabama, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri. Some were slave states, some free states and some territories of the US. He married (not allowed or sanctioned in slave states) and had a child born in a free state (making her free) and tried to buy his freedom from the widow of his last owner. When she refused, he sought legal redress and in its landmark decision. The Court ruled:
1. Negroes, Americans of African decent, do not have standing as American citizens and therefore cannot seek redress in court; they were never intended to be citizens
2. The Property Clause only applies to land under US control in 1787; therefore, the Missouri Compromise (which banned slavery in US territories) is UNCONSTITUTIONAL
3. Due process of the 5th Amendment prohibits federal government from freeing slaves brought to federal territories
This decision is unanimously denounced by scholars. It had dozens of unintended consequences such as the economic panic of 1857. Furthermore, it divided an already fractious Democratic Party, encouraged secessionist elements and strengthened anti – slavery Republicans. It therefore helped pave the way to the Civil War.