Pre-Civil War Era
Marco Munoz, Carmen Rangel & Obed Treino
The Dred Scott Decision:
The Dred Scott Decision is the decision made by the court to NOT grant Dred Scott his freedom. The Dred Scott Decision court case was a landmark decision. Scott was a slave who sued for his freedom due to being taken out of slave territory. He was taken into Minnesota which prohibited slavery because of the Missouri Compromise. The turnout was that Chief Justice Roger Taney claimed that since Dred Scott and his family were slaves, they weren't citizens which meant they had NO rights.
The Panic of 1857
The Panic of 1857 was a failing of the economy in the United States. The failure of the New York brnch was a major set off of the panic. A big financial force dropped a massive embezlement due to the failure of the Ohio Life Insurance and trust Company. Citiens bgan to wonder why British investors were removing funds from the National Bank of the United States. Then grain started rising which caused misery to the economy in rural areas. Many citizens lost their jobs due to overflow of manufactured goods for railroads, becase railroads failed so the demand droped damatically. Land speculattions failed, and investors lostmany investments also due to the of railroad failure. Finally the Amerian system became over-built.
John Brown's Raid
On October 16, 1859 John Brown lead a group of 21 men to capture weapons and eventually destroy the slave system. The weapons the were planning to take were located in the United States arsenal. After the men took the weapons they had more of an advantage to attacking the Southern slaveowners. Before they attacked they cut all telegraph wires for there wouldn't be no outside communication. The men tried isolating the town but couldn't. The military took actions nto their own hands, then Brown, his men and hostageswent to a small house. Eventually the military found them an wounded the men very badly. Brown soon was convicted of treason aganst the common wealth. Before John's sentencing he forewarned the Civil War: "...crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood'"