14+Document+5G

Opinion of the Supreme Court in Dred Scott vs. Sanford, 1857

I. Author: Who created the source? What do you know about the author? What is the author’s point of view?
Supreme Court. We know the Supreme Court's opinion is absolute and influential. The author's p.o.v. sides with Southern States' arguments.

II. Place and Time: Where and when was the source produced? How might this affect the meaning of the source?
1857. This declaration intensified the conflicts between Northern and Southern States.

III. Prior Knowledge: Beyond information about the author and the context of its creation, what do you know that would help you further understand the primary source?
This is another case that arose Northerners discontent after the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

IV. Audience: For whom was the source created and how might this affect the reliability of the source?
The audience was declared for everyone to hear and finalize the Dred Scott case.

V. Reason: Why was this source produced at the time it was produced?
The source was produced in order to settle disputes between Southern and Northern states, but in the end it turned out to be harmful and became the base motive for the Civil War.

VI. Main Idea: What point is the source trying to convey
The source says that the blacks were so inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect. The court said that whether the black was free or slave, they had no rights because they weren't part of the citizens of U.S. "[negro race] as separate class of persons."

VII. Significance: Why is this source important? What inferences can you draw from this document? Ask yourself, “So what?” in relation to the question asked.
This source is important because this is another incident that led to the start of Civil War. Inferences I can make from this document is that the War is eminent.