Black History Month: James Buchanan and the Dred Scott Decision
In 1857, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its ruling in the famous (or more correctly the infamous) case of Dred Scott v. Sandford. In what many legal scholars consider to be the worst decision of the court ever, the court ruled that people of African descent brought into the United States and held as slaves (or their descendants whether or not they were slaves) were not protected by the Constitution and were not U.S. citizens. Since passage of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Consitution, the decision is meaningless, but at the time it had great significance, and many list the decision as one of the causes of the Civil War.
Dred Scott was born a slave in Virginia sometime between 1795 and 1800. In 1820, he followed his owner, Peter Blow, to Missouri. In 1832, Blow died and the next year U.S. Army Surgeon Dr. John Emerson purchased Scott. After purchasing Scott, Emerson took him to Fort Armstrong, which was located in Illinois, a free state which prohibited slavery in its constitution. Scott remained there until 1836, when Scott was again relocated. This time he was taken to Fort Snelling, which was located in part of the Wisconsin territory, where slavery was “forever prohibited” by United State Congress under the Missouri Compromise. This provided Scott with a legitimate basis on which to claim his freedom in court, although Scott did not act on this opportunity.
In 1837, the Army ordered Emerson to Jefferson Barracks Military Post, south of St. Louis, Missouri. Emerson left Scott and Scott's wife Harriet at Fort Snelling, where Emerson rented them out for profit. By hiring Scott out in a free state, Emerson was effectively bringing the institution of slavery into a free state, which was a direct violation of the Missouri Compromise, the Northwest Ordinance, and the Wisconsin Enabling Act.
Before the end of the year, the Army reassigned Emerson to Fort Jessup, Louisiana. Emerson then sent for Scott and Harriet, who proceeded to Louisiana to serve their master and his wife. While on route to Louisiana, Scott's daughter Eliza was born on a steamboat underway along the Mississippi River between the Iowa Territory and Illinois. Toward the end of 1838, the Army again assigned Emerson to Fort Snelling. By 1840, Emerson's wife, Scott, and Harriet returned to St. Louis while Emerson served in the Seminole War. While in St. Louis, they were once again hired out and Emerson was once again breaking federal law. In 1842, Emerson left the Army. He died in the Iowa Territory in 1843; his widow Eliza inherited his estate, including Scott. For three years after Emerson’s death, the Scotts continued to work as hired slaves. In 1846, Scott attempted to purchase his and his family’s freedom, but Eliza Irene Emerson refused, prompting Scott to sue for his freedom.
In a trial held in 1850, a jury found Scott and his family to be free, but In November 1852, the Missouri Supreme Court reversed the jury's decision. Scott then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
(Chief Justice Roger Taney on the left, President James Buchanan on the right)
After the Missouri Court ruling, President-elect James Buchanan wrote to U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice John Catron, asking whether the case would be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court before his inauguration in March 1857. Buchanan hoped that a decision finding Scott to be a slave would quell unrest in the country over the slavery issue by issuing a ruling that put the future of slavery beyond the realm of political debate.
Buchanan successfully pressured Associate Justice Robert Cooper Grier, a Northerner, to join the Southern majority in the Dred Scott decision, to prevent the appearance that the decision was made along sectional lines. By present-day standards, such correspondence would be considered extremely unethical. Even under the more lenient standards of that century, Buchanan's applying such political pressure to a member of a sitting court should have been seen as improper. Republicans made an issue of Buchanan's influence on the decision by publicizing that Chief Justice Roger Taney had whispered in Buchanan's ear prior to Buchanan declaring, in his inaugural address, that the slavery question would "be speedily and finally settled" by the Supreme Court
Just two days after Buchanan's inauguration, the court handed down its decision, with each of the concurring and dissenting Justices filing separate opinions. By a 7-2 majority the court held that Dred Scott had no standing to sue for his freedom because Scott, and all people of African descent for that matter, were found not to be citizens of the United States.
The sons of Peter Blow, Scott's first owner, purchased emancipation for Scott and his family on May 26, 1857. This soon became national news and celebrated in northern cities. Scott worked in a hotel in St. Louis, where he was considered a local celebrity. He died of tuberculosis only eighteen months later, on November 7, 1858. His wife Harriet died on June 17, 1876.
Two justices of the court offered dissenting opinions. Jusitice Benjamin Robbins Curtis criticized Taney for addressing the claim’s substance after finding the Court lacked jurisdiction. He pointed out that invalidating the Missouri Compromise was not necessary to resolve the case, and suggested that he doubted Taney’s conclusion that the Founders categorically opposed anti-slavery laws. Justice John McLean echoed Curtis, writing that the majority improperly reviewed the claim’s substance when its holding should have been limited to procedure. He also argued that men of African descent could be citizens because by this time they already had the right to vote in five states.
The Dred Scott case has been considered by legal scholars and historians as perhaps the court's worst decision throughout its history. The late Chief Justice William Rehnquist expressed that opinion in the history of the court. Another Chief Justice and onetime Presidential candidate Charles Evans Hughes called the decision a "self-inflicted wound" from which the court would not recover for many years.
Dred Scott was born a slave in Virginia sometime between 1795 and 1800. In 1820, he followed his owner, Peter Blow, to Missouri. In 1832, Blow died and the next year U.S. Army Surgeon Dr. John Emerson purchased Scott. After purchasing Scott, Emerson took him to Fort Armstrong, which was located in Illinois, a free state which prohibited slavery in its constitution. Scott remained there until 1836, when Scott was again relocated. This time he was taken to Fort Snelling, which was located in part of the Wisconsin territory, where slavery was “forever prohibited” by United State Congress under the Missouri Compromise. This provided Scott with a legitimate basis on which to claim his freedom in court, although Scott did not act on this opportunity.
In 1837, the Army ordered Emerson to Jefferson Barracks Military Post, south of St. Louis, Missouri. Emerson left Scott and Scott's wife Harriet at Fort Snelling, where Emerson rented them out for profit. By hiring Scott out in a free state, Emerson was effectively bringing the institution of slavery into a free state, which was a direct violation of the Missouri Compromise, the Northwest Ordinance, and the Wisconsin Enabling Act.
Before the end of the year, the Army reassigned Emerson to Fort Jessup, Louisiana. Emerson then sent for Scott and Harriet, who proceeded to Louisiana to serve their master and his wife. While on route to Louisiana, Scott's daughter Eliza was born on a steamboat underway along the Mississippi River between the Iowa Territory and Illinois. Toward the end of 1838, the Army again assigned Emerson to Fort Snelling. By 1840, Emerson's wife, Scott, and Harriet returned to St. Louis while Emerson served in the Seminole War. While in St. Louis, they were once again hired out and Emerson was once again breaking federal law. In 1842, Emerson left the Army. He died in the Iowa Territory in 1843; his widow Eliza inherited his estate, including Scott. For three years after Emerson’s death, the Scotts continued to work as hired slaves. In 1846, Scott attempted to purchase his and his family’s freedom, but Eliza Irene Emerson refused, prompting Scott to sue for his freedom.
In a trial held in 1850, a jury found Scott and his family to be free, but In November 1852, the Missouri Supreme Court reversed the jury's decision. Scott then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
(Chief Justice Roger Taney on the left, President James Buchanan on the right)
After the Missouri Court ruling, President-elect James Buchanan wrote to U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice John Catron, asking whether the case would be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court before his inauguration in March 1857. Buchanan hoped that a decision finding Scott to be a slave would quell unrest in the country over the slavery issue by issuing a ruling that put the future of slavery beyond the realm of political debate.
Buchanan successfully pressured Associate Justice Robert Cooper Grier, a Northerner, to join the Southern majority in the Dred Scott decision, to prevent the appearance that the decision was made along sectional lines. By present-day standards, such correspondence would be considered extremely unethical. Even under the more lenient standards of that century, Buchanan's applying such political pressure to a member of a sitting court should have been seen as improper. Republicans made an issue of Buchanan's influence on the decision by publicizing that Chief Justice Roger Taney had whispered in Buchanan's ear prior to Buchanan declaring, in his inaugural address, that the slavery question would "be speedily and finally settled" by the Supreme Court
Just two days after Buchanan's inauguration, the court handed down its decision, with each of the concurring and dissenting Justices filing separate opinions. By a 7-2 majority the court held that Dred Scott had no standing to sue for his freedom because Scott, and all people of African descent for that matter, were found not to be citizens of the United States.
The sons of Peter Blow, Scott's first owner, purchased emancipation for Scott and his family on May 26, 1857. This soon became national news and celebrated in northern cities. Scott worked in a hotel in St. Louis, where he was considered a local celebrity. He died of tuberculosis only eighteen months later, on November 7, 1858. His wife Harriet died on June 17, 1876.
Two justices of the court offered dissenting opinions. Jusitice Benjamin Robbins Curtis criticized Taney for addressing the claim’s substance after finding the Court lacked jurisdiction. He pointed out that invalidating the Missouri Compromise was not necessary to resolve the case, and suggested that he doubted Taney’s conclusion that the Founders categorically opposed anti-slavery laws. Justice John McLean echoed Curtis, writing that the majority improperly reviewed the claim’s substance when its holding should have been limited to procedure. He also argued that men of African descent could be citizens because by this time they already had the right to vote in five states.
The Dred Scott case has been considered by legal scholars and historians as perhaps the court's worst decision throughout its history. The late Chief Justice William Rehnquist expressed that opinion in the history of the court. Another Chief Justice and onetime Presidential candidate Charles Evans Hughes called the decision a "self-inflicted wound" from which the court would not recover for many years.