DREDD SCOTT essays

DREDD SCOTT essays America in 1857 was a nation on the brink. Relationship between the North and South had been strained for decades and was only getting worse. All tension had to do with the issues of slavery. In 1848 the U.S. had acquired new lands in the Mexican cession, and the debate was on. The question was whether or not the South should be allowed to spread slavery into the new states. This debate turned violent many times. The South threatened to secede from the Union if a candidate from the Republican party, who was antislavery, won. Amidst all of the tension would emerge a slave named Dredd Scott. Dredd Scott was a slave to Dr. John Emerson in St.Louis, Missouri a slave state. Scott spent most of his time in Illinois, a free state, because his owner Dr. Emerson was an Army doctor and he stayed in Fort Armstrong in Illinois. Living in a free state had constituted freedom for previous slaves so Scott felt that he too deserved his freedom and he brought his first case to court on April 6, 1846, at this time he had moved back to Missouri and was the property of Dr. Emersons wife. Scott filed a declaration on April 6, 1846,which stated that Mrs. Emerson had beat, bruised and ill treated him before imprisoning him for twelve hours. He declared that he was to be free on the basis that he had lived of Fort Armstrong and Fort Snelling which were both located in free states. Scott felt that he had a strong case as the Supreme Court of Missouri had freed slaves previous to him who had also traveled with their masters to free states. Scott lost the first case and brought the case up again in 1850 to the Supreme Court of Missouri, the same court which had freed slaves previous on the same terms. The difference now was that two of the three justices serving on the court were pro-slavery whereas in cases prior to Scott vs. Emerson the Justices had a more apathetic view of slavery and saw it as a...