Read the terms of the Dred Scott decision which determined that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. See why this decision was so controversial and completely unacceptable to the northerners, thus driving an additional wedge...

Excerpts from the findings of the Dred Scott v. Sandford case, 1856, with link to the entire case.

The Dred Scott case was a test case on whether African-Americans, whether free or slave, had any rights. Find out what led up to this controverisal decision, and read the reasoning of the majority opinion as expressed by Chief Justice...

Provides information on Dred Scott and his fight for freedom, and the events leading up to the Supreme Court trial in 1857.

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.

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...

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.

[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...

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.

In order to convince oneself that owning another was defensible, Southerners aruged that there were economic, religious, historical, and legal reaons that slavery was a good thing. Read about some of these justifications in more detail,...

This site provides an extensive timeline of the life and work of Abraham Lincoln. Throughout the timeline there are photos that can be enlarged and many, many links to speeches, papers, letters of Lincoln's. The site is very easy to...

The Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 exemplified the rift in the nation concerning the issue of slavery and who should be able to determine whether states were free or slave. Read about this war of ideas that moved from the stage in...

Slaves and the Courts, 1740-1860 contains just over a hundred pamphlets and books (published between 1772 and 1889) concerning the difficult and troubling experiences of African and African-American slaves in the American colonies and...

A brief overview of what was in store for the United States after the controversial Dred Scott decision.

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...

Several lesson plans covering a range of topics from the 1830s through 1860. These plans will give your students experience using primary sources.

View a photo a 1860 Campaign Ribbon and read a brief description of the contentious election of 1860. Displayed in the National Museum of American History.

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]

A listing of the most significant Supreme Court cases in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with brief summaries of how they impacted on federalism.

This 12-question multiple choice quiz is immediately scored and covers facts about slavery in the Civil War era.

A map of the United States showing the effects of the Compromise of 1850. The map is keyed to show the free states and slave states, and notes California admitted to the Union as a free state; the Nebraska Territory as free by the...

(1777-1864) "Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, who gave the decision in the Dred Scott Case." -Foster, 1921