Task
6.2
US History, Ms. Brown
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Task
6.2
Name ___________________________
Date: ___________________
Homeroom: __________________
HOMEWORK
_____/10 Mastered/Passing/Not Mastered
Classifying Arguments in the Dred Scott Case
Directions: The following is a list of arguments used in Dred Scott v. Sanford. Read through
each argument and decide whether it supports Dred Scott’s side in favor of his freedom
(DS), Sanford’s position in favor of Scott’s continued slavery (SAN), both sides (BOTH), or
neither side (N). Label each argument next to the number.
__________ 1. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 outlawed slavery forever in certain areas.
Dred Scott’s owner took him to those free areas. Thus, Scott became free forever.
__________ 2. Dred Scott is not a citizen because if he were he would be entitled to all of the
privileges and protections of a citizen, one of which is the right of free movement. It is clear
that the laws governing slavery do not permit this, thus he cannot be a citizen.
__________ 3. Even before the Constitution, some states allowed blacks to vote. The
Constitution does not say explicitly that blacks cannot be citizens.
__________ 4. The US Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Neither Congress nor
states can pass laws that conflict with the Constitution.
__________ 5. It was law in many states and had been common law in Europe for centuries
that a slave who legally traveled to a free area automatically became free.
__________ 6. In the case of Strader v. Graham (1850), the Supreme Court of the United
States heard the case of three slaves who had been taken from Kentucky (slave) to Indiana
(free) and Ohio (free) and then back to Kentucky. The Court declared that the status of the
slave depended on the laws of Kentucky, not Ohio.
__________ 7. In 1865, the states ratified the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution
making slavery illegal.
__________ 8. The Constitution recognized the existence of slavery. Therefore, the men who
framed and ratified the Constitution must have believed that slaves and their descendants
(i.e. African Americans) were not to be citizens.
__________ 9. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 that outlawed slavery in some future states
was unconstitutional because Congress does not have the authority to deny property rights
of law-abiding citizens. Thus, Scott was always a slave in areas that were free.
__________ 10. At the time of the Dred Scott case, women and minors could sue in federal
court even though they could not vote.
US History, Ms. Brown
7
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Task
6.2
US History, Ms. Brown
Need Help? Email: [email protected] or Call 646.477.2663
8
Task
6.2
Name ___________________________
Date: ___________________
Homeroom: __________________
EXIT TICKET
_____/5 Mastered/Passing/Not Mastered
*Property *Slavery
*South
*Unconstitutional
*Dred Scott
*Chief Justice Taney *North
______________________________ was a slave whose owner moved from the south to
Wisconsin and Illinois, where slavery was outlawed. When his owner died, Dred Scott
sued for his freedom claiming that since he had lived where _____________________ was
outlawed he should be freed. __________________________________________________________
wrote in the Supreme Court’s decision, that Dred Scott could not bring suit because he
was not a citizen, he was ________________________. Additionally, Taney wrote that the
Missouri Compromise and popular sovereignty were __________________________________.
As they took away property (slaves). This outraged the _______________, but pleased the
_______________, and caused tension to grow further between the two sides. The nation
was further divided, and some feared that Civil War was near.
US History, Ms. Brown
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