The American Civil War was fought to resolve the issues of states’ rights versus a federal union, and whether or not the nation would continue to embrace slavery.
Southerners viewed slavery as vital to their agricultural way of life and favored the extension of slavery into the territories as cotton cultivation moved west. Northerners who did not rely on slaves for a workforce objected to slavery as a moral wrong and opposed its extension into the territories.
Read about the Dred Scott Case Here
Then watch this video
Describe the circumstances that brought about the Dred Scott v Sandford court case.
What was the ruling by Justice Taney?
Write a reaction to the Dred Scott Decision from the point of view of the following:
A free African American living in the north
A slave owner living in the South
Abraham Lincoln
A slave