In this Book
- The Dred Scott Case: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Race and Law
- Book
- 2010
- Published by: Ohio University Press
summary
In 1846 two slaves, Dred and Harriet Scott, filed petitions for their freedom in the Old Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri. As the first true civil rights case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, Dred Scott v. Sandford raised issues that have not been fully resolved despite three amendments to the Constitution and more than a century and a half of litigation. The Dred Scott Case: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Race and Law presents original research and the reflections of the nation’s leading scholars who gathered in St. Louis to mark the 150th anniversary of what was arguably the most infamous decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision that held that African Americans “had no rights” under the Constitution and that Congress had no authority to alter that galvanized Americans and thrust the issue of race and law to the center of American politics. This collection of essays revisits the history of the case and its aftermath in American life and law. In a final section, the present-day justices of the Missouri Supreme Court offer their reflections on the process of judging and provide perspective on the misdeeds of their nineteenth-century predecessors who denied the Scotts their freedom.
Table of Contents
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- acknowledgments
- p. ix
- introduction
- pp. 1-6
- part one
- part two
- five An Exaggerated Legacy
- pp. 83-99
- six Emancipation and Contract Law
- pp. 100-116
- part three
- nine Unmasking the Lie
- pp. 156-170
- part four
- fourteen The Strange Career of Dred Scott
- pp. 227-252
- select bibliography
- pp. 253-272
- contributors
- pp. 273-274
Additional Information
ISBN
9780821443286
Related ISBN(s)
9780821419113
MARC Record
OCLC
746079680
Launched on MUSE
2012-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No