Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-06-11
OPINION OF JUSTICE oATRON IN THE CASE
OF DRIED SCOTT "a. sANDFoRD.

OF DRIED SCOTT ps. sANDFoRD
M Justice OATRON.
me defendant pleaded to The Jurisdiction Of the Circuit
forrt that the plaintiff negro Of African blood; the
descendant of Africans who had been imported nd sold
in this country as s'aVes and thus had no capacity az
citizen Of Missouri maintain suit ia The Circuit oart
The court sustained demurrer to this plea and trial
was had upon the pleas OF the general issue and also that
the antif and his family slaves, belonging to the
defendant In this trial. verdict was given for the de-
The judgment Of the Circuit Court upon the plea in
abatement is not open, in my opinion, to examination
this court upon the PLAINTIFFS writ.
The judgment given for him c0nformably to the
PRAYER Of his demurrer He cannot assign an error in
such judgment. (fidd's Pr, ll63 Williams Saund,
fact that that the Judgment was given on plea to the u
Tisd ction avoid the application Of this rule. (Capr0n y
Van NoOrden, Cr7 l26, Wend., 465; Net, $685. ;
Pike, zoos
The declaration disoloss case within the Jurisdiction
Of the cOurt-a controversy between citizens of different
States The plea in abatement impugnng these jurisdie
toina aveTments was waived WHEN the defendant ansa
ed 70 the declaration by pleas to the merits The pro-
ceedDgs that plea remain part Of the technical record
show the history Of the case but open the
review Of tho court by writ OF error Tae authorities
are very conclusive this point Shepherd Y Graves
a How, sos; Bailey v DOzjer How % Stewart (Al
/ ALBANIA )46I Ben Monroe tKentucky) $50 2 Stewart
(Alabam2 A. So 443 Seamuson (lllnOs) 49, Nor can
the court assume admitted facts the avermens Of the
plea from the confession If the demurrer That confession
was for q single object and cannot be used FIR any 9th
purpose than TO test the validity Of the plea Fompkns
/ v Ashley, HOody and Maskiu, 50 IS Maine SO, 100
There being nothing in controversy here but the merits
! will proceed to discuss them
qhs plaintiff claims to have acquired properly in him.
SELF and became free, By being kept in Illinois durog two
( years.
what peculiar respecting slavery Unless the master be
comes an iuhabitant ofha State the say be takes there
do not 81 quirs their freedom aad If they return with their
TO slave STATE OF his dOmici they cannot
seTt their freedom alter their return For the and
authorities uIOn this point refr TO the opinion OF Dy
brother Nelson with which nat only coucur but Thick
lsf~ emf tf4at
/ within ny knowledge
uisnert insisted Tor ID plaintiff that his lrefdm and
that Of his wife and eldest child obtained by force Of
The act Of Congress Of 1890 usually known as the Mis-
souri, compromise ACT which declares That IN all that
territory ced-d By France to the United States, which lies
north Of thlryax degrees taty minutes north auuie,
slavery and involuntary servude shall BE- and here
BY, forever prohibited"
From This prohibition the territory Constituting the
State Of Missouri excepted which exception to the
stipulation gaTei the designation OF a compromise
The first question presented the act IS whether Con-
gess had power m IKE such compromise. For If power
wanting, then no freedom could be acq-red by the
defendant under The act
That Congress had no authority to pass laws and bind
mems rights beyond the powers conferred by the CODsti
Uon is not open to controversy But 10 Unlisted that
by The Constitution Congress has power 10 egslate ir
ard govern The Territories OF the United Staes and Lat
by force of the power TO govern ws could be enacted,
prohibiting slavery IN any portion OF LOUISIANA Territory
and Of course to lsh slavery parts Ct it. whilst
il was, or is, governed as a Territory.
NJ opinion is that Congress is vested with the power to
third section Of the fourth article Of the Constitution
And wall state my reasons for this opinion.
Almost every provision IN that instrument has history
that must be understood before The bret and sen enous
language employed b. cOmprebended IN The relations
ITS authors intended. We bring before the state
of things presented to the Convention, and regard 10
which II sced when the compound provision was made,
declaring LIST That new states may be admitted by the
Congress into the Uaon." ID. The Congress shall have
power dispose Of and make all needul rules and regu
atons respecting the territory other property belonging
TO the United states. And nothing in this Constitution
shall be construed pr udics any csms OF the United
States, or any particular STATE"
Having asceFtained the historical facts giving rise to
these provisions the difficulty of arriving a. the true
meaning the language employed will be greatly lessen
ed
The history of these facts s substantially as foloBs
The King Of Great Britain by his proclamation OF l763,
virtually claimed that the country west OF the mountains
had been conquered from France and ceded TO the crown
of q Britain BY the treaty Of Paris OF that year, and
he says ave reserve under sovereignty, protection,
and dominion, for the use OF the Indians
This country conquered from the Crown OF Great
Britain and surrendered tue United States by the treaty
Of peace 1888 The colonial charters of Virginia. North
Carolina Georgia, included it Other states set up
preensOus Of claim 70 portions OF the territory north
of the Ohio but they were OF no value, as suppose 10
Wheat, 875
AS this vacant country had been won by the blood and
treasure OF ali the States those whose charters did not
reach insisted that the country belonged to the States un'
ted and that the lands should be dis Osed OF for the ben
fit of the whole aud which end, the western territory
should be coded to the States uated The contest was
stringent and sngTy long before Inc Convention convened,
aud deeply agitsed that body. As matter Of justice,
and to quiet the controversy Virginia consented 10 cede
the country north Of the Ohio early 1885, and in II a
the deed of ceOn executed by hsr delegates in the
Congress If the Confederation conveying to the United
States Congress assembled for the benefit Of said states
all ht title, and claim well Of soil OF Jursde.
ton, which this Commonwealth hath to the territory or
ct of country within The limits Of the Virginia charter,
situate lying and being N The northwest oil Inc ITer
Ohio" In 1857 duly 10 the ordinance passed by-
the old Congress TO govern the Territory.
Massachusetts had ceded her pfeiensOn Of claim to
hnH5 n-h
New York had ceded hers In August l767i South Caro-
lima ded the Confederation her preenson Of calm to
territory west Of that State And North Carolina was
expected to ceCe hers, which she dId de- IN April lsJ
And Georgia confidently expected to cede her large
domain, constituting the territory OF the St ties Of Al
ALBANIA and mississippi.
At the time the Constitution under consderat iOn
there had been coded to the UGled States shortly
expected to Be oeded all the country, from the
British Canada line To Florida nd from the head Of the
Mississippi almost to It's msuth except that portion which
now constitutes the Stale OF Kentucky.
Although Virginia had conferred the Congress Of the
Confederation power govern the Territory north Of ihs
Ohio STILL it cannot be denied as think, that power
wanting to admit new State under the Articles Of COned
Grafton
With these facts prominently before the Convention
they proposed to accomplish these ends:
LIST. To give power 10 admit new States,
3D. To dispose Of the public lanes the Territories,
and such might remain undIspOssd of the SaIes
after they admitted
And, thirdly to give power to govern the different Ter
roes incpient States not OF the Union aud fit them
doubted that these powers necessary As early as
the third day OF its session. May 18th, Edmund Randolph
brought forward set of resolutions containing nearly all
the germs of the Constitution, the tenth Of which is as
follows:
Resolved hatprovison ought to be made for the ad
mission Ct States lawfully arising within the ltS OF the
United States, whether from voluntary junction OF gov
eminent and territory Otherwise with Of
number Of voices in The National Legislature less than the
whole"
August 18th, Mr. Madison submitted, in order 10 be
ferred to the committee Of detail the following powers as
proper to be ded to those OF the General Legsllure
To dispose OF the unapproprsted lands OF the United
States. To institute temporary governments for new
States arising therein See Cd Madison Papers, 1853
These with the utiOu that district for the loo lOn
of the seat Of Government should be provided and
Others were referred without dissent 10 the committee
of detail to arrange and put them into satisfactory Ian
guage.
Gouverneur Morris constructed the clauses, and
bnsd the of majority the two provisions, to ad
nit new States; and secondly TO dispose Of the public
lands and to govern the Territories in the time be-
tween the cesOns Of the States aud the admission the
Union of new States arising in the coded territory Is
Madison Papers, l456 to 1865.
1t was hardly possible to separate the power "tO make
all ueedf rules and regulations respecting the govern
men of the Territory md the disposition OF the public
lands.
North Of the Ohio, Virginia conveyed the lands, and
vested the jurisdiction the thirteen States before
the Constitution was formed She had the sole title aud
sole sovereignty, and the power to cede, any
terms she saw proper that the King Of England had 10
grant the Virginia colonial charter Of &c g. grant the
charter Of PeaasylTania to William Penn The thirteen
States through their representatives aud deputed minis
tiers the old Congress- had the right govern that
Virginia had before the cession Badwins Cons tuition
al Views 90 And the sixth article of the Constitution