<span>during this ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that slaves were not citizens of the United States so they could not expect any protection from the Federal Government or the courts.</span>
SUMMARY: In Dred Scott v. Sandford (argued 1856 -- decided 1857), the Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The Court also ruled that Congress lacked power to ban slavery in the U.S. territories.
In March of 1857, the United States Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, declared that all blacks -- slaves as well as free -- were not and could never become citizens of the United States. The court also declared the 1820 Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, thus permiting slavery in all of the country's territories.
<span>The case before the court was that of </span>Dred Scott v. Sanford<span>. Dred Scott, a slave who had lived in the free state of Illinois and the free territory of Wisconsin before moving back to the slave state of Missouri, had appealed to the Supreme Court in hopes of being granted his freedom. </span>
<span>Taney -- a staunch supporter of slavery and intent on protecting southerners from northern aggression -- wrote in the Court's majority opinion that, because Scott was black, he was not a citizen and therefore had no right to sue. The framers of the Constitution, he wrote, believed that blacks "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit. He was bought and sold and treated as an ordinary article of merchandise and traffic, whenever profit could be made by it." </span>
Referring to the language in the Declaration of Independence that includes the phrase, "all men are created equal," Taney reasoned that "it is too clear for dispute, that the enslaved African race were not intended to be included, and formed no part of the people who framed and adopted this declaration. . . ."
<span>Abolitionists were incensed. Although disappointed, Frederick Douglass, found a bright side to the decision and announced, "my hopes were never brighter than now." For Douglass, the decision would bring slavery to the attention of the nation and was a step toward slavery's ultimate destruction. </span>
Tensions, disagreements, rivalry and contradiction were in the making for several centuries until the Great Schism of Christianity occurred in 1054. There were disagreements over theological doctrines, over the celibacy of priests (the Orthodox didn´t support it), over due authority (primacy of Rome or Byzantium? A question with political consequences), etc. The Roman Catholic Church used Latin as the official language and a good part of its norms and regulations were founded on Roman law. Meanwhile, the Eastern Orthodox Church based in Byzantium used Greek as the official language and its theology and doctrines were influenced by Greek philosophy.
The compromise admitted California as a free state and did not regulate slavery in the remainder of the Mexican cession all while strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act, a law which compelled Northerners to seize and return escaped slaves to the South.The Compromise of 1850 pacified the nation for only a short time. In the end, neither the North nor the South was truly happy with the agreement, and both sides grew increasingly agitated and bitter about the state of affairs.For nearly a century, the people and politicians of the Northern and Southern states had been clashing over the issues that finally led to war: economic interests, cultural values, the power of the federal government to control the states, and, most importantly, slavery in American society.
The govt. did not, A. Raise and extend the income tax. This would a horrible and useless idea, not to mention rationing was started, so money would be useless in purchasing items.
