homework #3: Dred Scott
NAME: ____________________________ PERIOD: ___ DATE: ___________
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE HOMEWORK JOURNAL #3
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. (Declaration of Independence, 1776)
No person shall be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.... (Amendment V of the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution, 1791)
DIRECTIONS: Above are quotes from two of the documents that became the basis for the Americam system of government. The Dred Scott case illustrates one of those times when two competing ideas come in the conflict; in this case, the Declaration of Independence's words concerning human rights (above) and the Constitution's protection of property rights against government interference (also above).
Explain how, in Dred Scott's situation, the language of these two documents could be used by both pro-slavery and anti-slavery people to support their positions before th U.S. Supreme Court. Then explain how, if you had been a judge, you could have given a decision without violating the language of either the Declaration or the Bill of Rights.