Keith Hughes: The Dred Scott Decision Explained: US History Review

Source:Keith Hughes.

Source:The New Democrat

The Dred Scott decision is one of the worst decisions in American history. The fact that African-Americans weren’t considered American citizens at the time, even if they lived in free states meaning that whether you were African, or Caucasian you were free and couldn’t be held as a slave and that under the U.S. Constitution everyone born inside of the United States, or has at least one parent born in the United States, was ridiculous. A simple bad reading of U.S. law and the U.S. Constitution at best and racist at worst from the U.S. Justices’s who ruled in that direction. And of course this decision was even worst for Dred Scott who would have to live as a slave.

But even with horrible rulings and decisions comes some positive features. It meant the United States was going to have to decide whether it was going to be a free country. Meaning all Americans are free, or whether it was going to be a half free, half slaved country. If you’re of European descent, you were free and couldn’t be a slave. If you were of African descent, you most likely would be a slave. Had the Confederate States somehow managed to win the American Civil War. The Dred Scott decision was kind of like that last blow that ignited the American Civil War. Putting the North against the South to decide what type of country America was going to be. Or would we end up splitting similar to what happened to Germany, Korea and Vietnam. A free North and a half free half slaved South.

The American Civil War, was bad for lots of reasons. Because of all the destruction that came to America. Leaving the North to be fairly prosperous which it has remained for the most part ever since. And the South to be fairly poor and needing so much Federal aid to try to rebuild themselves. And something the South, if you look at South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi, they’ve never fully recovered from the Civil War. Plus all the innocent lives that were lost on both sides. But the Civil War did lead to the abolishment of slavery in America. And America has only made progress in the areas of race relations, equal rights and civil rights ever since.