[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1265-E1266]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  DRED SCOTT COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE BILL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM (BILL) CLAY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 1998

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing legislation 
authorizing the U.S. Park Service to install a plaque to commemorate 
the Dred Scott decision at the Old Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri.
  The Old Courthouse is part of the Jefferson National Expansion 
Memorial (JNEM) which was created by Congress to commemorate and 
illustrate many of the historic events which occurred during this 
nation's westward expansion. The purpose of JNEM is to foster an 
awareness and understanding of those who settled the vast frontier 
region west of the Mississippi River.
  In keeping with its mission to commemorate the significant 
occurrences in the westward expansion of the United States, this 
legislation authorizes the National Park Service to install a plaque 
advising visitors that the Dred Scott case was tried at this Courthouse 
and enlightening them to the debate over slavery that was launched by 
the landmark Supreme Court ruling in the 1857 case of Dred Scott v. 
Sanford.
  Dred Scott, a slave who sought his freedom on the basis that he had 
lived in free territory, lost his case and his appeal to the Supreme 
Court. He did not live to see the end of slavery. However, by fighting 
for his freedom, Dred Scott made a great contribution to this nation. 
Historians consider the Dred Scott decision to be among the key events 
that triggered the Civil War. In it, the Supreme Court ruled that 
slaves could not be citizens of the United States and could not sue in 
federal courts. But the Supreme Court did not stop here. In an effort 
to put an end to the debate over slavery, under the leadership of Chief

[[Page E1266]]

Justice Taney from the slave state of Maryland, the Supreme Court 
stated that since a slave was private property, a slave could be taken 
into the territories and held there--regardless of what Congress or the 
territorial legislatures ruled. The Supreme Court effectively declared 
unconstitutional the already repealed but still honored Missouri 
Compromise which forbade slavery north of 36 deg. 30'.
  The Dred Scott ruling did not put to rest the debate over slavery. 
Instead, the Supreme Court, in Dred Scott v. Sanford, acerbated the 
tensions between the foes of slavery and the Southern slave holders. 
Abolitionists challenged the Supreme Court's authority to rule on 
slavery in the territories while Southerners were incensed by their 
contempt for the Court's ruling. The bitterness between the North and 
the South over the issue of slavery intensified in the wake of the Dred 
Scott decision and four years later the Civil War erupted.
  Mr. Speaker, Dred Scott was a slave whose courage helped to forever 
change the course of this nation's history. Those who visit the Old 
Courthouse in the City of St. Louis will benefit from a public plaque 
commemorating his fight for freedom.

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