Name:_____________________________________________________ Period:___________
DRED SCOTT CASE
Directions: Read the following paragraph. Then, answer the following questions concerning the case.
When it was written in 1787, the U.S. Constitution, in effect, permitted slavery. Many of the founders owned slaves. Others opposed slavery. They hotly contested the issue of how to deal with slavery during the
Constitutional Convention, and the problem of slavery continued to plague the new nation.
As America expanded into the original Northwest Territory, purchased Louisiana from the French, and defeated Mexico to gain the Southwest, our government made compromises in regards to slavery. By the 1850s, some states had forbidden slavery while others still protected it.
In 1834, Dred Scott, a slave was taken by his master to Rock Island, Illinois, a town in a free state. His master later took him to the Wisconsin Territory, where the Missouri Compromise of 1820, a federal law, had forbidden slavery. His master then brought Scott back to Missouri, a slave state. Scott brought suit against his master claiming himself a free man because he had resided in areas which had banned slavery.
1.
What facts did Dred Scott use to argue that he was a free man?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2.
If you were Dred Scott’s attorney, which parts of the Constitution or any other government document would you use to support Scott’s case? (THERE ARE MULTIPLE ANSWERS!)
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
3.
What ruling did Judge Roger Taney make in Dred Scott’s case?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
4.
Explain how Taney interprets the 5 th
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and how it effects Scott’s freedom.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

Directions: Read the following excerpts, then answer the question that follows.
A House Divided
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
In 1858, Republican Abraham Lincoln ran to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate. His opponent was Senator Stephen Douglas, a Democrat. The two men toured the state giving speeches that drew large crowds and received national attention in the newspapers. The issue that drew the most attention was slavery.
What did each man have to say about slavery?
I. Abraham Lincoln
Document 1
“A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe that this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.... It will become all one thing or all the other.”
--- Lincoln’s speech accepting the nomination for Senator
Document 2
“I will say here...that I have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.
I have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the black and white races... but I hold... there is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness....”
--- Lincoln speech at Ottowa, Illinois
II. Stephen Douglas
Document 3
“We are told by Lincoln that he is utterly opposed to the Dred Scott decision, and will not submit to it, for the reason that he says it deprives the negro of the rights of.... citizenship. [laughter and applause]... I ask you, are you in favor of conferring upon the negro the rights and privileges of citizenship? [“No! No!] Do you desire to strike out of our State Constitution that clause which keeps slaves and free negroes out of the State, and allow free negroes to flow in, [“Never!”] and cover your prairies with black settlements? Do you desire to turn this beautiful State into a free negro colony...?
If you desire negro citizenship, if you desire to allow them to come into the State and settle with the white man, if you desire them to vote on an equality with yourselves, and to make them eligible for office,... then support
Mr. Lincoln and the Black Republican party, who are in favor of the citizenship of the negro.”
---- Stephen Douglas at Ottawa, Illinois

Document 4
“The signers of the Declaration of Independence never dreamed of the negro when they were writing that document. They referred to white men.... I say to you, frankly, that in my opinion this government was made by our fathers on the white basis. It was made by white men for the benefit of white men and their posterity forever, and was intended to be administered by white men in all time to come... I hold that under our constitution and political system the negro is not a citizen, cannot be a citizen, and ought not to be a citizen...”
--- Stephen Douglas at Galesburg, Illinois
Imagine that you are a spectator listening to these debates between Lincoln and Douglas in Illinois. In a 5 paragraph essay, explain whether you agree with Abraham Lincoln or Stephen Douglas. You must cite at least 4 specific quotes from the above texts to support your arguments!
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________