The Supreme Court Ruling

The Constitution is a famous American document. The fast paced movie “National Treasure” starring Nicolas Cage rekindle my interest in this famous document. This document was created over several months and finally became law in 1791. Most Americans are aware of this document but are not knowledgeable of it contents. One of the reasons is the majority of the times it is glossed over. Only some segments are discussed. This article will discuss a very important aspect of the Constitution, the Supreme Court and it obligation to interpret the Constitution. The Constitution was created in1791; it starts a new session on Monday in October of each year. The Justices meet Wednesday and Friday to determine the out come of its 5,000 or more cases .The interpretation and the decisions in these cases are profound. One such case is the Dred Scott Case of 1857

THE DRED SCOTT CASE
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Mr. Dred Scott presented a plea to the Supreme Court. The reason for the plea is Scott believed under the prevailing law he was a free man. He believed by moving with his master to a non-slave state and returning to a slave holding state he had become free. Justice Taney who heard the case would rule against Scott The argument was that since Dred Scott was not consider as a citizen when the Constitution became laws he did not have the right to present a case to any court. The ruling against Scott is derived from the interpretation of the Constitution. Many of the Justices who were from the south favored the slaveholders and their view. In their view chattel could never attain the level of citizen. This ruling caused the Northern states to believe the south was using the Constitution for their own purpose. The above case and it interpretation is allegedly eliminated by the 14^th Amendment. However, a close reading of it indicates the