The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics [Paperback]

the Late Don E. Fehrenbacher (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195145887 | ISBN-13: 978-0195145885 | Publication Date: May 24, 2001

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1979, The Dred Scott Case is a masterful examination of the most famous example of judicial failure--the case referred to as "the most frequently overturned decision in history." On March 6, 1857, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivered the Supreme Court's decision against Dred Scott, a slave who maintained he had been emancipated as a result of having lived with his master in the free state of Illinois and in federal territory where slavery was forbidden by the Missouri Compromise. The decision did much more than resolve the fate of an elderly black man and his family: Dred Scott v. Sanford was the first instance in which the Supreme Court invalidated a major piece of federal legislation. The decision declared that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the federal territories, thereby striking a severe blow at the legitimacy of the emerging Republican party and intensifying the sectional conflict over slavery. This book represents a skillful review of the issues before America on the eve of the Civil War. The first third of the book deals directly with the with the case itself and the Court's decision, while the remainder puts the legal and judicial question of slavery into the broadest possible American context. Fehrenbacher discusses the legal bases of slavery, the debate over the Constitution, and the dispute over slavery and continental expansion. He also considers the immediate and long-range consequences of the decision.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Probably the most thorough study of any Supreme Court decision ever undertaken."--C. Vann Woodward, The New York Review of Books

"A masterful reexamination of some of the most complex and enduring American constitutional problems...I know of no other book on the slavery controversy that contributes so much to the specialist's knowledge yet is so readily accessible to the general reader."--David Herbert Donald, Chronicle of Higher Education

"Fehrenbacher's book is the best history of a landmark constitutional case ever written, but it is far more: it is a probing and lucid study of slavery in American political and legal history....A masterpiece of the historian's art." --Richard B. Bernstein, Harvard Law Record

About the Author

The late Don E. Fehrenbacher was William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies at Stanford University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 741 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (May 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195145887
• ISBN-13: 978-0195145885
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #749,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece; the finest study of a Supreme Court case., March 13, 2001

By 

R. B. Bernstein "R. B. Bernstein, Adjunct Pro... (Brooklyn, New York USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics (Hardcover)

When this book came out, in 1978, it was immediately -- and justly -- hailed as a triumph of historical scholarship and literature. Thoroughly researched, rigorous in its analysis, and written in calm, understated, lucid prose, THE DRED SCOTT CASE is an essential examination of perhaps the Supreme Court's most notorious "self-inflicted wound." Don E. Fehrenbacher had already shared a Pulitzer Prize with his late colleague David M. Potter for THE IMPENDING CRISIS, 1848-1861, a book that Potter did not live to finish and that Fehrenbacher completed and saw through the publication process. Fehrenbacher then returned to this study and won a Pulitzer Prize in his own right.

THE DRED SCOTT CASE is meticulous in its sifting of the historical currents and processes that led to the litigation that produced the case; in its reconstruction of the actions of all parties to the case and the arguments of the lawyers; in its unearthing of the political maneuverings by the Justices and by President-elect James M. Buchanan; and in its analysis of the catastrophic effects of a Supreme Court decision that its author, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, intended to lay the slavery issue to rest once and for all.

This is not only the definitive study of its subject; it is the finest examination ever undertaken of the history of a Supreme Court case and the history that that case made. It is a tribute to what historians can do when they are at their best.

This book will soon be reprinted (April 2001) by Oxford University Press. It should be read in tandem with Fehrenbacher's last book, the posthumous THE SLAVEHOLDING REPUBLIC. Its return to print is welcome news.

-- R. B. Bernstein, adjunct professor of law, New York Law School

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding book, May 12, 2002

By 

M. Nielsen (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics (Paperback)

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It might seem that a 700 page book (600 pages of text; 100 pages of notes) on a 19th century court case might be the epitome of exceedingly dry material suited only for particularly motivated graduate students. But I found this book captivating. What came through in every paragraph was the work of a skilled and judicious historian sleuthing his way to an understanding of the background and ramifications of the enormously important Dred Scott decision. Not one page in this book read like the work of an uninspired academic sawing his way through a pile of research notes.

Fehrenbacher focuses on the political, legal and constitutional aspects of the Dred Scott case. He explores the background and developments, from the arrival of the first slaves in the colonies in 1619 through the bitter political battles of the 1850s. His discussion of legal developments is particularly interesting because this is one area where the reader encounters the concrete complications and conflicts between various state and federal laws affecting slaves and slave owners. He also shows how legal developments and constitutional theories were affected by the increasingly acrimonious political battles over the rights of slaveholders. His analysis of Chief Justice Taney's opinion was particularly impressive. Finally, his discussion of the immediate and longer term impact of the Dred Scott decision was fascinating. When I finished the book, I was disappointed that he hadn't carried the thoughts in the last chapter further (even though it was clear he had chosen a good stopping point for his analysis). I was also tempted to go back to the beginning and re-read the book immediately! It is so rich, and there's so much of importance to understand. (Instead, I started in on Fehrenbacher's more recent book, The Slaveholding Republic.)

One of the strengths of the book is Fehrenbacher's attention to the relevants facts and texts. His text never reads like a cut-and-paste compilation of other authors' conclusions. Throughout, Fehrenbacher was doing his own thinking - and he came through as quite skilled in asking good questions, identifying all the relevant facts, weighing the possible meanings and interpretations, and arriving at fair conclusions. (Whatever the topic, it's always a pleasure to read the work of someone who works as Fehrenbacher did in this book.)

I highly recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in American legal or constitutional history, in the events that lead to the Civil War, or in race relations in America.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Really Wonderful Read, June 9, 2002

By 

Frederick D. Friedman (Santa Monica, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics (Paperback)

I read the abridged edition of 1981, titled Slavery, Law and Politics. I can only echo what the other reviwers have said. It's about a court opinion but it is anything but dry. You learn much about the law and politics of slavery, from the founding of the nation forward. You learn about the Dred Scott case itself, including the legal maneuverings in the lower courts. The author's analysis of Chief Justice Taney's opinion for the Court is one of the best single chapters I have read in a history book in a long time. The author is learned but the prose is engaging--elegant, even. You feel you are in the company of a wise teacher, who is not trying to impress you but simply to impart his considerable knowledge without ego on a topic that turns out to be an excellent prism through which to view an important swath of our history. Read it!