The House Dividing - Essay Example

Was the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Scott v. Sanford case right?  Even with compromised legislation during the 1820s which defined certain states or territories of a state would either be free or slave, it is not until 1850 that temporary resolution was sought to remedy such Compromise. In this light, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dred Scott v. Sanford case may be justified given the complex situation with the bill especially on the emergence of the Fugitive Slave Act which required citizens to assist in the recovery of fugitive slaves and deprived the latter of the right to jury trial.

At this stage, thus, the nation, as reflected through each of its states, was still in the process of dealing with controversies about slavery and statehood. Moreover, it should be noted that by the Thomas Proviso or the Compromise of 1820, Missouri had been admitted as a slave state and slavery was still allowed in Missouri though to a certain extent, abolitionists were successful in drawing a line of demarcation which did not permit slavery. Even if his argument had a reasonable point, the petition of Dred Scott is one that could dissolve in turmoil of granting him the favor or considering the decision of his army physician owner since Missouri, at the time, was chiefly a slave state following the provision on the initial request for statehood.

During this period, U.S. struggled to address several issues regarding whether a territory, upon acquisition, must be declared free or allow slavery further and whether or not the inhabitants ought to choose for themselves. According to David Blight, the essence of the Dred Scott decision in the wake of Bleeding Kansas has made the country understand the implications of popular sovereignty in the West. References“Dred Scott Brief.” FindLaw. Retrieved from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=60&invol=393 on December 3, 2011.

“David Blight on the Dred Scott Decision.” Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4i3090.html on December 3, 2011.