The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics

This book is the most thorough study of a single court case that you can find anywhere. To really understand the Dred Scott case, you have to understand the history, the politics, the law, and the people involved. Fehrenbacher nails all four. Nowhere will you find a more lively discussion of the ins and outs of obiter dictum and federal jurisdiction nor a more revealing analysis of the people central to the drama: Roger Taney, Stephen Douglas, etc. A must read for all students of American history, law, and politics.

This book is in the first rank of scholarship and scholarly writing. Each sentence raises an interest expanded by the next sentence.

1852 The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics, by Don E. Fehrenbacher (read 15 May 1984) (Book of the Year) (Pulitzer History prize in 1979) This is a truly great and magisterial book. It is simply fabulous and a joy to read. It covers fairly familiar ground, which I just went through last year when I read Allan Nevins' book. But this book covers the Dred Scott case so much more ably, and I found myself agreeing with everything in it. A poll taken in 1974 by the ABA Journal to determine milestones in American legal history resulted in the following, after the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution: 1. Marbury v. Madison; 2. Warren Court; 3. U.S. v. Nixon; 4. Miranda v. Arizona; 5. Brown v. Board of show more Education; 6. Dred Scott v. Sandford. Pre-Civil War history is fascinating and this book is an excellent one, full of lots of super-interesting things. show less