LAD #18

The court in the case of Dred Scott ruled in favor of Sanford, but failed to take into account the ruling of the Missouri Compromise and Negro rights. The decision was passed on to Chief Justice Robert Taney. Once it was obvious that the end and inevitable decision was approaching, James Buchanan contacted some of his comrades in order to see whether a decision had been reached or not. Taney and those associated with the trial met and he stated his final decision on the matter. Taney first ruled that Negros were not technically protected by the Constitution since he did not consider them true citizens of the United States, having been shipped over as slaves or through other means. Perhaps Taney's most famous statement was what came next. He stated that he believed in the power of the Constitution and couldn't physically give Scott any rights due to the fact he was property. Taney continued to explain how it is the American way that he cannot interfere with personal property, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness for the people of this nation. Scott was seen as nothing more than an inanimate object owned by the white man, and Taney ruled that he could not be declared free since property cannot be removed from its owners without violating the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.