Excerpt from the Supreme Court Decision in the Dred Scott Case, 1859

Question

The question is simply this: Can a negro, whose ancestors were imported into this country, and sold as slaves, become a member of the political community formed and brought into existence by the Constitution of the United States, and as such become entitled to all the rights, and privileges, and immunities, guarantied by that instrument to the citizen? One of which rights is the privilege of suing in a court of the United States in the cases specified in the Constitution.

Use the image and the excerpt to answer the question.

How did the passage of the law criticized in the cartoon and the Supreme Court decision make the divisions between North and South more contentious?

A.
The legality and enforcement of slavery had to be confined to slave states.

B.
Politicians supported civil disobedience in objection to these events.

C.
Many citizens realized the nation as a whole had to reject or accept slavery.

D.
The harsh realities of slave life galvanized opposition to the practice.

Answer 1

C. Many citizens realized the nation as a whole had to reject or accept slavery. Both the cartoon and the Supreme Court decision highlight the ongoing debate about whether slavery was compatible with the principles of the Constitution and the nation as a whole. The controversy surrounding the Dred Scott case and the Fugitive Slave Act caused divisions between North and South to deepen and sparked further tensions leading up to the Civil War.