Dred Scott v. Sandford : a brief history with documents

Trace the impact of one of the most significant Supreme Court decisions as Dred Scott v. Sandford walks you through this iconic court case, whose ruling eventually led to the abolition of slavery.

• Foreword p. iii
• Preface p. v
• List of Maps and Illustrations p. xv
• Part 1 Introduction: The Dred Scott Case, Slavery, and the Politics of Law p. 1
• An Overview of the Dred Scott Case p. 2
• A Bad Decision p. 4
• A Complex and Confused Case p. 6
• Slavery in the Territories p. 8
• Who Was Dred Scott? p. 12
• Dred Scott Sues for Freedom p. 17
• In the Federal Court p. 19
• The Jurisdictional Issue and the Plea in Abatement p. 20
• The Case in the Federal District Court p. 21
• Before the Supreme Court p. 22
• The Justices p. 24
• The Compromise Not Taken p. 27
• The Jurisdictional Question p. 29
• Free Blacks under Taney's Constitution: "They Had No Rights" p. 30
• The Status of Slavery in the Territories under Dred Scott p. 33
• The Territories Clause p. 34
• The Fifth Amendment p. 35
• Law as Politics p. 38
• The Politics of Law p. 39
• The Republican Fear of a Conspiracy p. 40
• The Nationalization of Slavery p. 41
• The Democratic Response p. 43
• Epilogue: Part I p. 44
• Epilogue: Part II-Reversing Dred Scott p. 47
• Part 2 The Documents p. 55
• 1 Opinions of the Justices p. 55
• 1 Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, Opinion of the Court in Dred Scott, Plaintiff in Error v. John F. A. Sandforol, March 6, 1857 p. 56
• 2 Justice James M. Wayne, Concurring Opinion, March 6, 1857 p. 76
• 3 Justice Samuel Nelson, Concurring Opinion, March 6, 1857 p. 78
• 4 Justice Robert Cooper Grier, Concurring Opinion, March 6, 1857 p. 84
• 5 Justice Peter Vivian Daniel, Concurring Opinion, March 6, 1857 p. 85
• 6 Justice John Archibald Campbell, Concurring Opinion, March 6, 1857 p. 90
• 7 Justice John Catron, Concurring Opinion, March 6, 1857 p. 94
• 8 Justice John McLean, Dissenting Opinion, March 6, 1857 p. 98
• 9 Justice Benjamin Robbins Curtis, Dissenting Opinion, March 6, 1857 p. 106
• 2 Newspaper Response to the Dred Scott Decision p. 125
• Varieties of Southern Proslavery Opinion p. 125
• 10 Enquirer (Richmond), The Dred Scott Case, March 10, 1857 p. 127
• 11 Mercury (Charleston), The Dred Scott Case-Supreme Court on the Rights of the South, April 2, 1857 p. 129
• 12 Daily Picayune (New Orleans), Citizenship, March 21, 1857 p. 131
• The Buchanan Administration's Paper Endorses the Decision p. 132
• 13 Union (Washington, D.C.), The Dred Scott Case, March 12, 1857 p. 132
• Northern Support for the Dred Scott Decision p. 135
• 14 Journal of Commerce (New York), The Decision of the Supreme Court, March 11, 1857 p. 136
• 15 Journal of Commerce (New York), The Dred Scott Case, March 12, 1857 p. 137
• 16 Post (Pittsburgh), Seeking an Issue, March 17, 1857 p. 139
• Opposition to the Dred Scott Decision: A Spectrum of Northern Opinion p. 140
• 17 Tribune (New York), Editorial, March 7, 1857 p. 141
• 18 Daily Times (New York), The Slavery Question - The Decision of the Supreme Court, March 9,1857 p. 142
• 19 Evening Post (New York), The Supreme Court of the United States, March 7, 1857 p. 143
• 20 Independent (New York), Wickedness of the Decision in the Supreme Court against the African Race, March 19, 1857 p. 145
• 21 Register (Salem), The U.S. Supreme Court, March 12, 1857 p. 148
• Lincoln's Paper Responds p. 149
• 22 Tribune (Chicago), Who Are Negroes?, March 12, 1857 p. 149
• 23 Tribune (Chicago), The Dred Scott Case, March 17, 1857 p. 150
• A War for Public Opinion: The Washington Union and the New York Tribune p. 150
• 24 Union (Washington, D.C.), Unreasonable Complaints, March 21, 1857 p. 151
• 25 Tribune (New York), Judge Taney's Opinion, March 21, 1857 p. 154
• 26 Tribune (New York), Editorial, March 21, 1857 p. 156
• 27 Tribune (New York), Editorial, March 25, 1857 p. 158
• 28 Union (Washington, D.C.), The Supreme Court and the New York Tribune, March 28, 1857 p. 159
• 3 Political Debate in the North p. 161
• 29 President James Buchanan, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1857 p. 163
• 30 Frederick Douglass, The Dred Scott Decision: Speech at New York, on the Occasion of the Anniversary of the American Abolition Society, May 11, 1857 p. 166
• Lincoln-Douglas Debates and the Dred Scott Decision p. 178
• 31 Abraham Lincoln, The "House Divided" Speech at Springfield, Illinois, June 16, 1858 p. 181
• 32 Stephen A. Douglas, Speech at Chicago, Elinois, July 9, 1858 p. 191
• 33 Abraham Lincoln, Speech at Chicago, Illinois, July 10, 1858 p. 197
• 34 Stephen A. Douglas, Speech at Springfield, Illinois, July 17, 1858 p. 200
• 35 The Debate at Freeport: Lincoln's Questions and Douglas's Answers, August 27, 1858 p. 208
• 36 The Debate at Jonesboro, September 15, 1858 p. 210
• Congressional Debate p. 215
• 37 Congressional Globe, Bust of Chief Justice Taney, February 23, 1865 p. 216
• 4 Reversing Dred Scott: Formal Constitutional Change p. 222
• 38 The Thirteenth Amendment, 1865 p. 223
• 39 The Fourteenth Amendment, 1868 p. 223
• 40 The Fifteenth Amendment, 1870 p. 224
• Appendixes
• A Chronology of Events Related to Dred Scott (1787-1876) p. 225
• Questions for Consideration p. 229
• Selected Bibliography p. 231
• Index p. 233