Interpretation of the Constitution

-today many believe that Taney had no right to make a decision for which there was no clear Constitutional authority, this is because any court in the US is only supposed to interpret the Constitution, not make new edicts or imply meanings


-shows how in a troubled time and under pressure, ridiculous decisions can be made that are not justified by the Constitution, this case goes down as one of the worst cases in Supreme Court history

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Podcast, on  “Dred Scott and the Constitutionality of Slavery”