LAW 9123 - Race and the Law Seminar: Class 4: Enforcing Slavery

Class 4: Enforcing Slavery

Dred Scott and the Supreme Court - C-SPAN Video
Lea VanderVelde talked about the Dred Scott v. Sanford Supreme Court case of 1857, the repercussions of the decision, and why its location in Missouri was very important. Dred Scott, who was a slave, attempted to sue his owner John Sanford for his family’s freedom after they had been moved to a free state by their former master. Among other points, the court ruled that slave or free African Americans could not sue in federal court because they could not be U.S. citizens.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg gave the introduction.

Required Reading

United States Constitution Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3
Westlaw
Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, 1 Stat. 302
Westlaw
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, 9 Stat. 462
Westlaw
Dred Scott v. Sandford 60 U.S. 393 (1857)
Westlaw
Christopher L. Eisgruber, “The Story of Dred Scott: Originalism’s Forgotten Past,” in Constitutional Law Stories (2009)
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See Recommended Readings on Enforcing Slavery

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