Talk:Dred Scott/Comments

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This is a decent article. There are, however, some problems. I will go over them at length after a rereading but the constitutional law issues are addressed rather feebly, as the issue before the Supreme Court in its narrowest construction simply regarded whether Scott had standing to bring federal suit as he had been determined merely a resident in the Missouri Supreme Court, and thus was not necessarily a citizen, a requirement to sue a citizen from another state in federal courts under the Diversity of Citizenship Clause within the US Constitution. Frankly, unless you have studied Constitutional Law, the many issues that flow through the case cannot be properly addressed. The two most reliable sources I have seen are A People's History of the Supreme Court by Peter Irons. Though somewhat subjective, it directly and clearly discusses Dred Scott's life and the various state, federal, and Supreme Courts. Review pages 141-232. Don Fehrenberger's biography is an excellent resource and the earlier Supreme Court decision in Strader v. Graham, 51 U.S. 82 (1850) is useful as well.˜˜˜˜