Existing comment:
In War and In Peace:
The Supreme Court and the Civil War:
In 1857, the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford pushed the nation closer to civil war. The Justices declared with a 7-2 vote that Congress could not regulate slavery in the territories, as it had done in a series of compromises since 1820. Moreover, the opinion denied all people of African descent, whether free or enslaved, citizenship under the Constitution.
The now infamous decision became a focal point in the national debate over slavery. In the North, concerns grew that the opinion would allow the spread of slavery. In the South, suspicions that a new President or Congress might try to counteract the ruling with new legislation fueled talk of secession. In the closely contested 1860 election, Abraham Lincoln, a vocal critic of the opinion and the extension of slavery, won the presidency.
On April 12, 1861, Fort Sumter was attacked and a week later President Lincoln ordered the naval blockade of Southern ports; the North and South were at war. Facing an unprecedented rebellion, the President and Congress took extraordinary measures to preserve the Union. These controversial wartime actions were challenged in several cases which reached the Supreme Court. Of these, only a few influenced the war directly, but several set landmarks for how the Constitution functions in the time of war. |