WASHINGTON D.C. Dred Scott is
property. According to our Supreme Court
and Chief Judge Roger Taney, Scott is no different than a draft horse, a cotton
gin, or a bale of cotton. Although his
owner, Dr. John Emerson, took Mr. Scott and his family (wife Harriett and their
two children) to live in two FREE
states, the law of those states was ignored. Scott and his family remain in chains. Two questions. “How will abolitionists react to this
decision?” The highest court in our Republic
has said black men and women who are slaves remain the property of their owners
NO MATTER WHERE THEY LIVE. The other
question is “Will Southern states now carry out their threat to secede?” Justice Taney has basically handed them the
candy store. Southern slave owners could
lead a parade of their slaves through the streets of Boston, sticking their tongues out at the
abolitionists. But will the
abolitionists whip out their knives and cut off their tongues?
For all us southerners, the abolitionists will destroy our way of life. It is written in the constitution that states have rights, and I don't see them represented now- or ever. Those in the federal government have always planned to destroy our ideals, and if we fear a battle, they will. I see our only option to preserve the rural lifestyle is to fight. We must secede, and we must win. I have military experience, and I know that we have the best military minds this country has ever seen. We are outnumbered, but if we use strategy similar to that of our great president Washington's during the revolutionary war, we will win as our ancestors did.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts align with General Jefferson Davis’s. As I reside here at Washington, I allow my extensive relations and my intercourse with the society of the Federal capital to furnish me with information regarding the repeated and unforgivable violation of states’ rights. Day in to day out, my outwardly face sulks with the prospect of impending doom that is undoubtedly assaulting the Union’s, my perfectly crafted mask the very epitome of gloom and anger. I fit in like just another ship at port, yet another Union flag in a sea of red, white, and blue- as I should- whilst my inner face shines proud, dwelling in delight at the abolitionists’ lost battle. The abolitionists call us heartless, evil bastards that care for nothing but our own ends. Yet I still stand aloof on my perch, for they are fighting for a lost cause. Do they not see that the banner of stars and stripes, once proud and pure, is now stained with fallacies and scuttlebutt? No- they continue on, shredding their newspapers out of childish anger, no doubt bending under the humiliation that is so rightfully theirs, just the way they did after that atrocity, Nat Turner, led his failed rebellion. But it is of no matter. Soon, my true country, the Confederacy, will sever all association with such a shameful race of people and create our own stainless flag. This I had long foreseen- my intimate knowledge of both the public men and the government’s rulings can attest. We will be free from their odious thoughts and diabolical schemes. We will be the new Union, the one it should’ve been from the beginning. As I lay down for the night, the confederacy’s cheers could be heard over the horizon.
DeleteWhy should you be one to get your back up when them poor slaves are out breaking their backs, while all you southerners sit inside passing about the old orchard!
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe us Abolitionists will stop trying to take away your way of life if you start giving your slaves a decent one.
ReplyDeleteI'll see you on the battlefield- oh wait, you have completely incompetent generals. That's not going to help your cause.
DeleteAlthough you may have genius generals, who are they going to lead? Men without weapons in such a modern war are doomed. You know the South is hopelessly dependent on the North. Even the cart you drive to transport your cotton to the local market has been manufactured by us, the North. Where will you get your ammunition, artillery, and cannonballs. All you have are slaves, plantations and a great deal of arrogance.
DeleteWhen the tariff of British goods no longer exists after our succession, we will no longer need to buy northern goods. The North's business will plummet due to lack of buyers, and they will have lost a large vendor for cotton. But I do beg forgiveness for my prior arrogance.
DeleteWe all knew that this was going to happen. This is what should happen. The only thing we get from taking a slave to a free state, is that very slave thinking that he is a free person. Then he tries to win his case in court! Oh, thank God that the Supreme Court of the United States of America has done the right thing. Although I do not believe the Northerners will take this case lightly. This just may be what brings this country to war! The only thing we southerners can do to meet this is to secede, and meet them in battle, and with Jefferson Davis to lead us through this, we just might earn our right to our property.
ReplyDeleteThe Dred Scott Decision has confirmed that slaves are property, and I rejoice at this victory with all other Southerners. I don't think the abolitionists will take this decision well, they think they are better than everyone, and as a result will probably retaliate. I'm not sure how much longer the South can stand to be a part of the same nation as the Northerners. I've heard people talking about secession, and I think it's a grand idea. I hope our great leader, Jefferson Davis, will lead us through this difficult period of separating from the Union, and even through what may become a civil war. Long live the South! (Frankly, in my opinion, the Dred Scott Decision is ridiculous because slaves are people just like me. Southerners celebrate this victory, and as a spy I am expected to celebrate with them. Southerners say abolitionists are rude, and act as if they were above everyone else. I don't think this is true at all, abolitionists are visionaries, the bright future of our nation. However, the abolitionists have lots of spirit, and will almost certainly fight back. This will enrage the South further, and they may carry out their threat to secede. I hope they don't, President Lincoln is a good man, he will bring peace to this country, and he’s nothing like the South's leader, Jefferson Davis. I don't trust Jeff Davis, and pledge my full support to Lincoln. Alas, I must continue to play my part, and fulfill my duty to my country. Long live the United States of America!)
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ReplyDeleteHaving been a slave myself, I know many of the hardships that other slaves face. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to escape slavery. These white men and women do not understand what it is like to live the life of a slave. Why do these people treat us blacks like property? Why is everyone not treaty equally? Do you know what I find ironic? These white men are saying that us abolitionists are taking away their rights when all along, they have been taking away our rights by using us as slaves.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. Taking on the disguise of a slave in one of my missions, I learned the hard way about how slaves were treated. My skin and hands were rubbed raw by the end of the first day. Slaves are treated like animals, but the laugh and joke with each other as normal people do. How are these people any different from us Americans? They're just normal people with a different color. How does this make them any different? I changed my identity before entering the army, ridding myself completely of my family. While others fought in hopes of seeing their family once the war was over, I fought for the slaves. All the slaves will be free, so long as my heart beats strong.
DeleteI for one, admire you taking on being a spy. You have moved me Mrs. Edmonds.
DeleteBeing a conductor on the Underground Railroad, I have seen black people come and go. Watching them ,as they struggle for freedom.
I understand that many people have different views on slavery, however I want to try my hardest to these help people to their freedom.
How much longer do we need to keep fighting? All we want is the same rights as white people...to be treated as a person and not an animal.
The Dred Scott case may have confirmed that slaves are now property and I know for certain that the abolitionists will strike back. This case is ridiculous. Judge Taney woke up the wrong passenger. Slavery is the very reason I joined the army. A person should be treated equally based on who they are, not by what the color of their skin is. We are all human, as far as I’m concerned. The Northerners take this issue very seriously. Being a spy, as I am, I take little part in this. I have my own beliefs that I keep to myself. Should the North take action against the South, I’m sure that the South won’t back down. That ignorant fop Jefferson Davis is still at sea about what the North has to offer and pays no attention to his own grangers. The South may be blowing about this victory, but they won’t be the ones smiling once the North take action.
ReplyDeleteThis is outrageous! I, for one, believe that Mr. Scoot and his family should NOT be kept in chains while they are in the free states. Where is our humanity? These blacks are the same as us. We are all children of God. Just imagine what your life would be like if the roles were switched. Does that not send shivers down your spine? I have witnessed the injustices and cruelty of slavery first-hand. There is a lot of things that are so horrible that I cringe at the very thought of it. Why is our society like this? Treating humans as though they are pets? Marching them around town to show-off? After going through what I have gone through, I can firmly state that I oppose slavery. It is unnecessary and something to be terribly ashamed of.
ReplyDeleteSlavery must be destroyed. I feel that it is an abhorrent stain to the Union, men cannot be bought and sold like cattle, or other mindless beasts. In short, it must be ended, and if not peacefully, then with violence. This is not a battle that can be won with treaties, or comprises. There is only one way for us to resolve this conflict, and that one way is war.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on all levels, except for the part where you want to destroy slavery. The rift between us Southerners and the abolitionists is getting too large. First all those dumb compromises from the Congress, and now all these attacks starting to happening on Kansas innocents. However, must I remind you Mr. Grant, you are no one’s number one pick as general. You are second to my good friend Robert E. Lee, maybe even second to me. Whilst you may control our luxuries, like our clothes and beds, we control the cotton that makes those clothes. Understand you do not have the upper hand in this war, neither geographically, as we control the border states, or economically, as we have the power to even bring in Britain or France. I will see you on the battlefield sir.
DeleteIt is a matter of how much of the tongue is cut; as well as the obvious, who the witness judging the act of reprisal is. Rulings such as Dred Scott Decision only encourage the North to push the knife further back, and abolitionists such as myself will do our best to sharpen the knife. Slavery completely obliterates an individual’s self-governance and sovereignty for it is an employment that is involuntary and inhumane. I was born around loss; sold and traded like property. Blacks are neither an item to be offered, nor are they a color. If our name defines so much of our existence, at least brand us correctly. Dred Scott is a man much like myself, he too was born into slavery. Not only did he have the strength to endure this torture but he also did so while being enslaved—illegally—during his extended residence in the FREE states of Illinois and Wisconsin. His plight only adds to the immorality of this judgement. Like a hereditary cancer, slavery takes over its host’s life without obtaining any authority to do so. Shades must coexist. The North will not dismiss this event as bosh.
ReplyDeleteDred Scott got what he deserved. The republic clearly states that no matter where he travels to, Scott will always be the property of his owner. Hopefully slaves like Dred Scott will learn from this and refrain from making the same mistakes.
ReplyDelete(Hearing things of events like this causes me great sadness. My fellow abolitionists and I hope that one day, our work will pay off and slavery will be ended. My thoughts are with Dred Scott and his family.)
Slavery should be allowed all over the place. Now that slavery has been confirmed as property, not that it's a surprise, the Southerners can finally use their property wherever they want. It is to be expected that abolitionists will fight back. There's no doubt. The Southerners will stand their ground though. Dred Scott and his family were meant to go back to their owners. They were property. What makes them so special they don't have to listen to the law? (Slavery is wrong. The fact that Dred Scott was returned after he thought he had a chance of getting his family to safety and freedom then was returned to a life of abuse and involuntary work is simply unethical. Slavery should be a decision of morals, not politics. Abolitionists will fight back, as they should. Southerners will fight back too. If that's what it's going to come to though to finally solve this issue, then that's what it's going to come to.)
ReplyDeleteFor many years, slaves have been treated as mere property, but the Dred Scott case is taking a step over the tolerance line. Human are one of the same equal beings and should be treated equally like so. If one as a white man would do the same as of a black man, things would have certainly changed. Unfortunately this is not the case. Slavery denies of benevolence and humanity a violates our natural and legal rights as stated by John Locke and Tomas Paine. John Locke stated that a man's natural rights are life, liberty, and estate; but slaves have a much more arduous process to receive such simplest of rights. The North won't permit this occasion unacceptable behavior.
ReplyDeleteAbolitionists will definitely fight back on the Dred Scott Decision. Slavery completely disobeys human rights. All people deserve the right to be equal and free. Black families should not be treated as property. They are people too. As tensions rise, Southerners may initiate their threat to secede. If Southern states execute their plan, war will certainly follow. The Southerners better back down unless they are prepared for a fight. While some may beat the devil around the stump, I am ready for combat.
ReplyDeleteIt deeply saddens me that our country has come to this. Does half of this society really have no good morals? Slaves are not property! Our homes, our land, our clothes are property! Not human beings! Black folks are in no way different than us white folks. Just because I have brown eyes and the person sitting next to me has blue eyes doesn't mean that he is smarter, or more capable than I. I have written a book on the hardships of the slaves who every single day are only trying to stay alive. They work and work and work until their bones become numb. My only hope is that the southerners will finally see what they have been putting these poor slaves through, and that other white women such as myself will speak up for freedom that everyone in this country deserves.
ReplyDelete//**This post is a response to Sarah Edmond's post on May 3, 2015 at 3:29 PM
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely correct, Sarah Edmond. I, Lafayette Baker, am completely and thoroughly against slavery; although, my antipathy against traitors and those who threaten to secede is great to. I say and will continue to say, “Death to Traitors!” My distaste against slavery and those who support it developed first when I noticed a group of slaves being transported in a wagon, bound and shackled. Prior to this, my experience and contact with slavery was limited as I lived in the states of Michigan and California where slavery is few and far between. What really shook me was when I witnessed a slave being beaten and whipped to death for the sole and supercilious purpose of serving as a warning and a reminder to other slaves. My sympathy and awe at the strength and resilience of slaves has continued to grow. I, along with Frederick Douglass, am amazed at all the hardships Dred Scott has went through. And like you predicted, I, as an abolitionist, am taking the Dred Scott case very seriously. As the union’s spy chief, I shall do my best to help the union in this imminent war. This war is not only a prevention of the inhuman treatment of blacks, but it is also a punishment for slaves and traitors. I agree with John Brown on the use of violence to prevent the unethical treatment of blacks. During the civil war, as a spy chief, I shall, consequently, be an avid supporter of interrogation techniques and harsh punishments to extract and remove the twisted “Southern Pride” of our brethren.
Abolitionists need to be happy that most people in the North don’t own slaves, so they can be happy knowing most blacks around are free. However, slaves are property, are they not? Us Southerners have paid for them with our money. So what, just because we people decide we want to live in less sunny weather, or that we don’t feel like living on farms anymore, that doesn’t mean we lose our stuff. You don’t see Northern people moving to the South and losing all their chairs and other property, so why should we lose our slaves? Now, to talk about succession. Why shouldn’t we secede? We have brilliance on our side. We already stole their general. We may not have the guns, but we have the money, the brains, and the numbers on our side. We can strike fast and strike with intent. If we secede and a war does come, we shall win against those lazy bums, letting machines do all their work, while we still have to toil in the farms all day. Secession would only end up bad for the North, all we need to do is to really expand our factories.
ReplyDeleteAs a true Confederate, I agree with making slaves permanent property to the slave owner. Slaves are supposed to stay with us. Stay with their owners and work. Abolitionists should just calm down and look at what's happening. The South is taking over, the slaves are a big impact into our success. Secession already started. The term has already been used as early as 1776. South Carolina threatened separation when the Continental Congress sought to tax all the colonies on the basis of a total population count that include slaves.
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ReplyDeleteThe Supreme Court has made the right decision. As the owner of a prosperous plantation, I understand the importance of slaves, they do the work that helps support the modern world. You can't argue with the logic that property is owned by its owners no matter where it is. My shovel is still my shovel even it's in New York. I don't care about the controversy, even if it results in a war. Although I will be thankful to see the light of tomorrow.
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ReplyDeleteThe Supreme Court has waken up the wrong passenger. Us abolitionists will not ever stand for these people stuck in between hay and grass, who are they to say that one of our color have just as much freedom as a cotton gin? My belief is that the Supreme Court is to fetch the better good for this country, but shaming a human being, a citizen of being nothing more then property, is to beat the band bosh. Abolitionists will not stand for this, we will have game, we will have the whole kit and caboodle in the end and we shall never back down.
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ReplyDeleteclara bartonMay 2, 2015 at 4:53 PM
It pains me to see our fellow brethren condemned to a life of chains and captivity, given no more worth than that of a draft horse. Are blacks not also human? Were they not also created in the image of God, deserving of the freedom we hold so sacred? I`ve been blessed to a grand education, yet as a woman not even I can stand up to these foolish southern men. I have been made to be powerless by men and in this I feel for the slave. I ought to go to the rescue of those enslaved and not give in to common confederate belief. For I have a desire and a passion to help those in distress. If war must come to change the stubborn minds of southern grangers, let it come. I would rather live in a world where people fight against injustice than a world with peace and slavery.
ReplyDeleteAs a born and raised southerner I believe that slaves should and are meant to be our property as whites. The state that I was born and raised in, West Virginia, was one of the first states to be put under antislavery rules, and to fall to the Union forces. Not everyone believes in the same ways of living, and therefore, I stand by my opinion and as well as the Supreme Courts, that slaves should remain our property. Abolitionists need to back off and let the situation play itself out. As far as I stand, I think that slaves shall remain property and will stay that way until something major happens, which so far, does not seem to look like it is going to happen.
I do not know much, but Daddy says the the Supreme Court made a really good decision. Slaves deserve to wirk in the fields all day. They are not as good as us whites. Daddy also says that they need to be taught right from wrong and learn to respect there owners. Mommy doesn't have much of a opinion. She is to busy taking care of the new baby, and all I do all day is help her. Daddy has the big say in this house.
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ReplyDeleteAs a plantation owner I can understand the slaves position and the slave owners position.
ReplyDeleteI do agree property is property, but what you can do with that property depends on where you are. In this case the slave or the "property" is free. But the Fugitive Slave Law Act says that the slave owner could take the slave back to the South and have him not be free. As I law abiding citizen I think he should keep that in mind. I'm not saying we should calaboose the slave owner or anything like that. I also can twig the slave owners perspective he probably has a heap of slaves running a way, so he might need his slave really badly. All in all I'm saying according to the law the slave can be free in the North but the slave owner is allowed to take the slave back to the south while still following the law.
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DeleteI also would like to add that technically Dred Scott is not a citizen so he can't be free, but I believe he does not have to work as a slave as long as he resides in the North. If his slave owner decides to take him back then he does have to go with him.
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DeleteI strongly oppose the Dredd Scott decision which was passed by the Supreme Court. The laws even state that any slave that is North of the Ohio River, is free. This is nothing like the situation of the Missouri Compromise. The fact that Scott testified in court by stating his position that he is a free man was constitutional. Slaves in general should be considered more than just property. If we treat them the way we consistently do, we might as well just throw all the slaves in a calaboose.
ReplyDeleteI strongly oppose the Dredd Scott decision which was passed by the Supreme Court. The laws even state that any slave that is North of the Ohio River, is free. This is nothing like the situation of the Missouri Compromise. The fact that Scott testified in court by stating his position that he is a free man was constitutional. Slaves in general should be considered more than just property. If we treat them the way we consistently do, we might as well just throw all the slaves in a calaboose.
ReplyDeleteI strongly oppose the Dredd Scott decision which was passed by the Supreme Court. The laws even state that any slave that is North of the Ohio River, is free. This is nothing like the situation of the Missouri Compromise. The fact that Scott testified in court by stating his position that he is a free man was constitutional. Slaves in general should be considered more than just property. If we treat them the way we consistently do, we might as well just throw all the slaves in a calaboose.
ReplyDelete(The Dred Scott decision is bosh. Those Southerners, blue at the mizzen, don’t think blacks are good enough to be citizens? I went to the Quaker School for Negroes and saw heaps of free blacks, plenty smart enough to be citizens. The South woke up the wrong passenger, we can fight back.)
ReplyDeleteThose Southerners are rather getting confused about the meaning of "free" states aren't they? They think all of us up north are going to throw in the towel, and let them take over, don't they? Well, I refuse to stand for this injustice much longer. Slaves, men and women, blacks and whites, we are all people. No slave or woman should be treated as if they are just objects to be owned and used. No human being should be treated as inferior for any reason. I am sure that black folks and women all around could all be just as smart and successful as white men if they would just let them! Those Southerners better treat their slaves better before the abolitionists march up and free them all ourselves! If only the south would stop tearing the Constitution to bits and award rights to all Black folks, as well as take away the free-speech-impairing gag rule in congress!
ReplyDeleteThose Southerners are rather getting confused about the meaning of "free" states aren't they? They think all of us up north are going to throw in the towel, and let them take over, don't they? Well, I refuse to stand for this injustice much longer. Slaves, men and women, blacks and whites, we are all people. No slave or woman should be treated as if they are just objects to be owned and used. No human being should be treated as inferior for any reason. I am sure that black folks and women all around could all be just as smart and successful as white men if they would just let them! Those Southerners better treat their slaves better before the abolitionists march up and free them all ourselves! If only the south would stop tearing the Constitution to bits and award rights to all Black folks, as well as take away the free-speech-impairing gag rule in congress!
ReplyDeleteNow say, you are as right as anybody could possibly be, Dr. Mary Walker, my thoughts match with yours perfectly.I think that this decision was like a declaration of war on all of the ideals and freedoms awarded them by their states and territories, which stood opposed to the institution of slavery. Let the Free States, then, have a unit in its Congressional Representation on the side of freedom, let the next President be a Republican, and 1860 will mark an era kindred with that of 1776, and the country and the Constitution be ruled and considered by men kindred in aim and principle with Washington, Jefferson and the Fathers! Our flag should have the light of the stars and the streaks of running red erased from it; it should be dyed black, and its device should be the whip and the fetter! We northerners are very frustrated about this decision!
ReplyDeleteAt this very day and age of time, I can see how many can see how a person is nothing but a tool. A tool only kept for plowing fields and taking care of the house. And, even though our blood may have iron in it, just like any tool, I can tell you, that we are not tools. We are humans. And to think, that any man, a man like Dred Scott, to be taken for property, is constitutional? This whole decision is complete bosh! I know from experience that working in the fields is back-breaking work. And yet, we get no reward. When I was freed by my owner from slavery, I finally saw what many others of my kind could not see. Freedom. And it pains my heart, to see a fellow free slave such as myself to be shackled back into the chains of slavery. These southerners have stomped on our ground too much! Let this be war for our freedom. For now, I can watch from afar in the eyes of a lowly black cook, and a house slave, and as a distant slave neighbor until I can get all the information I need to rise our palms against the cheeks of the southerners. Watch your backs, because war is behind you.
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