US History › Section G · Reform and a decade of crisis › Topic G.7
Dred Scott and sectional strife
In 1857 the Supreme Court tried to end the argument over slavery in the territories once and for all. Instead its decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford enraged the North, split the Democrats and set the stage for Abraham Lincoln.
In this topic
- A president hopes the Court will decide
- Dred Scott and his family
- The road to the Supreme Court
- Taney's ruling and the dissent
- Worked example: reading Taney's opinion
- Reactions North and South
- Kansas and the Lecompton constitution
- Lincoln and the house divided
- The Lincoln-Douglas debates
- Worked example: how one ruling split the Democrats
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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