The Dred Scott Decision

Of course it is very ironic that "The Dred Scott Decision" is one of the volumes in the "Cornerstones of Freedom" series because the 1857 U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding slavery is one of the darker moments in the nation's history. Brendan January does an excellent job of presenting this infamous decision in its historical context. This is an extremely informative book that covers every stage of the case, culminating in not only the major arguments in Chief Justice Roger Taney's majority decision but the dissenting opinion offered by Justice Benjamin Curtis. January makes it clear that the decision was based more on the prejudices of the justices than Constitutional principles. The only omission of any significance I can see is that January does not talk about the geographical limitations that were stopping the spread of cotton into the southwest, which threatened the precarious balance between the free and slave states in the U.S. Senate. This was what forced the slavery issue to a head as much as anything else, but given the comprehensive presentation of the issues and personalities involved in this case, this is a minor quibble (besides, I love the aside January provides that Missouri supreme court justice Judge William Scott was not related to Dred Scott). High school students will be hard pressed to find a comparable volume for their own age group that provides as much information about the Dred Scott decision as this volume. I have found the "Cornerstones of Freedom" series to be very good across the board.

I had to write a paper on the Dred Scott Decision. Although I am not of the age group group that this book is geared towards, it explained the very complicated subject in a simple way that was very informal. It was quite useful in writing the paper and I would recommend it to children as well as adults interested in important rulings of the supreme court and history.