Speech on the Dred Scott Decision by Abraham Lincoln

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Speech on the Dred Scott Decision by Abraham Lincoln

Daily Essay 2013, Joerg W. Knipprath 4. The Classics that Inspired the Constitution, 13. Guest Constitutional Scholar Essayists, 17. Topics, Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence, First Inaugural Address by Abraham Lincoln, Joerg W. Knipprath, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Speech on the Dred Scott Decision by Abraham Lincoln, The Constitution of the United States of America, The Missouri Compromise

Guest Essayist: Professor Joerg Knipprath, Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School

Abraham Lincoln’s speech on the Dred Scott Case reveals the complex nature of his views on slavery and racial equality, complexity that reflected the divided national psyche. Many Americans in the broad middle rejected the Southern defense of slavery and believed that the “peculiar institution” violated basic human rights and the fundamental equality of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness promised to all in the Declaration of Independence. Read more

May 6, 2013/3 Comments/by Janine Turner

Speech on the Dred Scott Decision by Abraham Lincoln – Reprinted from The U.S. Constitution, A Reader, Published by Hillsdale College

Classics that Inspired the Constitution, Daily Reading 2013, Speech on the Dred Scott Decision by Abraham Lincoln, The Original Documents 4. The Classics that Inspired the Constitution, Speech on the Dred Scott Decision by Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln argues that Chief Justice Taney’s opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford violated America’s founding principles and rewrote American history.

June 26, 1857

…And now as to the Dred Scott decision. That decision declares two propositions–first, that a negro cannot sue in the U.S. Courts; and secondly, that Congress cannot prohibit slavery in the Territories. It was made by a divided court–dividing differently on the different points. Read more

May 6, 2013/0 Comments/by Janine Turner