Was the Dred Scott Decision Judicial Activism?

What do slaves fighting for their freedom on board a ship and a slave fighting for his freedom in a courtroom have in common? Budding historians investigate the two different cases of the Amistad slave revolt and the Dred Scott argument....

The United States was on the brink of a war within itself when the Dred Scott case came before the Supreme Court. Viewers examine the defining case that served as a ratuionale for slavery leading into the Civil War. 

A Supreme Court justice does not have supreme authority over the law. Scholars investigate how the justices on the Supreme Court balance their views and opinions as they relate to the United States government and politics. They view a...

Describes the difficult process the US Supreme Court judges went through in preparing their final decision in the Dred Scott case.

Life was precarious for free and enslaved African Americans, as demonstrated by the tragic Dred Scott decision. The Supreme Court case not only denied an enslaved man's petition for freedom, but also claimed that African Americans—free...

This resource presents the text of the case, Dred Scott, Plaintiff v. John F. Sandford, which was presented to the Supreme Court in December, 1856.

This site from ThisNation.com provides Chief Justice Roger B. Taney's full text of the Supreme Court's decision in this landmark case.

This site details the controversial issues regarding slavery and the effects they had on the Civil War amendments as well as on the fifth amendment. The site discusses events such as the Dred Scott case, the addition of the Civil War...

What do a photo of Abraham Lincoln, a map for the Battle of Antietam, and the Dred Scott decision all have in common? Learners consider the broader question as they examine documents related to civil rights during the Civil War and...

By reading this section from a chapter on "The Tumultuous 1850s," students will understand the importance of the Supreme Court's Dred Scott ruling and be able to discuss the principles of the Republican Party as expressed by Abraham...