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Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Dred Scott Decision

For Students 9th - 10th
Comprehensive summary provides a list of interesting facts and information about the Dred Scott decision that ruled slaves were property.
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Article
University of Groningen

American History: Essays: Impact of Dred Scott: The Road to Civil War

For Students 9th - 10th
After the Dred Scott decision by the US Supreme Court, the friction between the North and South over slavery escalated, and the North began to fear that they might not be able to prevent slavery from spreading into their states. The Dred...
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Article
University of Groningen

American History: Essays: Dred Scott: Dissenting Opinions and Reactions

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes the fallout after the Dred Scott decision by the US Supreme Court, where two judges released their dissenting opinions, newspaper articles both reviled and supported the decision, and public debate raged.
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Primary
This Nation

This nation.com: Dred Scott v. Sanford (1856)

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from ThisNation.com provides Chief Justice Roger B. Taney's full text of the Supreme Court's decision in this landmark case.
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Primary
University of Groningen

American History: Documents: Dred Scott Case

For Students 9th - 10th
Here you will find the primary source text of the case and the opinions of the Supreme Court Justices in the Scott v Sandford case which ultimately ruled on the constitutionality of the Missouri Compromise.
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Article
University of Groningen

American History: Essays: Impact of Dred Scott: The Decision

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes the difficult process the US Supreme Court judges went through in preparing their final decision in the Dred Scott case.
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Article
University of Groningen

American History: Essays: Politics and Sectionalism: Scott Versus Sandford

For Students 9th - 10th
Outlines what happened with the Dred Scott case as it was passed on from the local state court all the way up to the federal Supreme Court, with a final decision being reached in 1857.
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Article
University of Groningen

American History: Essays: Impact of Dred Scott: In Federal Judicial System

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes how the Dred Scott became increasingly significant politically as it progressed through the court system, finally reaching the US Supreme Court.
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Lesson Plan
iCivics

I Civics: Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court decision that determined that Dred Scott, having lived in a free territory, was not entitled to his freedom. Students learn about the impact of the Court's decision, and how it was...
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Activity
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: Landmark Decisions

For Students 9th - 10th
This site details the controversial issues regarding slavery and the effects they had on the Civil War amendments as well as on the fifth amendment. The site discusses events such as the Dred Scott case, the addition of the Civil War...
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Primary
Cengage Learning

American Governemnt Documents Collection: Dred Scott vs. John f.a. Sandford

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides a complete text of the 1857 Supreme Court decision in the case between Dred Scott and John F.A Sandford.
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Dred Scott v. Sandford

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the Encyclopedia Wikipedia provides information on the Dred Scott case, as it progressed through the Missouri state court, the Federal court system, and the appeal that went to the Supreme Court.
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Handout
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: The Supreme Court: Landmark Cases: Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

For Students 9th - 10th
PBS features a summary of the landmark Supreme Court case of Dred Scott v. Sanford which ruled that African Americans are not American citizens, and therefore could not sue in federal court. Decision written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney.
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Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Political Divisions

For Teachers 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart details the growing political divisions in the United States in the decade before the Civil War. It includes information on the election of 1856, the Dred Scott Decision, the Lincoln...
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Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: A Divided Nation

For Students 9th - 10th
Overview of events and politics surrounding the bitter conflict about slavery in the U.S., including the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Dred Scott Decision.
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Activity
Illinois Institute of Technology

Oyez Project: Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

For Students 9th - 10th
This U.S. Supreme Court case dealt with the issues of slavery, citizenship, and property rights. It is detailed with an abstract providing a concise summary and a record of the justices that sat on the Court at that time.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: From Uneasy Peace to Bitter Conflict

For Students 5th - 8th
A brief overview of what was in store for the United States after the controversial Dred Scott decision.
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Handout
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Constitutional Rights Foundation: Moving Toward Equality Under Law

For Students 9th - 10th
As new free and slave states were admitted to the Union prior to the Civil War, political divisions kept growing, despite attempts to balance the numbers of each. The South pushed for slavery to expand westward, while anti-slavery...
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Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: A Divided Nation

For Students 9th - 10th
This page from the American Revolution Project of the University of Groningen discusses how the 1850s were a time of conflicting ideas between North and South regarding the expansion of slavery. Scroll down to the third paragraph and...
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Website
University of Maryland

Voices of Democracy: Abraham Lincoln, "A House Divided" (16 June 1858)

For Students 9th - 10th
Read the full text of the "House Divided" speech that Lincoln delivered on June 16, 1858, as he accepted the Republican nomination for the U.S.Senate seat from Illinois that was held by Stephen A. Douglas. This speech exemplifies...
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Handout
US Department of State

Bureau of International Information Programs: History Outline: Sectionalism

For Students 9th - 10th
Article reviews several conditions of American society that sowed the seeds of civil war, particularly slavery and sectional conflict.
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Unit Plan
Department of Defense

Do Dea: Ap Us History: Unit 4: A House Divided

For Students 9th - 10th
This extensive learning module examines how the United States became more connected with the world as it pursued an expansionist foreign policy, became the destination for many new immigrants, and encouraged migration to the Pacific...
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Lincoln vs. Douglas [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The Licoln-Douglas debates pitted two great speakers who were espousing different courses for the country in regard to the issue of slavery. Read a snopsis of their seven debates and see what four major issues they debated. [pdf]
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Lincoln Douglas Debates

For Students 9th - 10th
Historic debates, both in substance and form, were held between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in the Illinois Senate race in 1858. Read about the debates, where tht two men stood on the issue of slavery, and its place in the...