544 TEE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



ery had not become the goal of the devotees of equality, especially since 

 its inhumanity appeared more obvious and the situation more grotesque 

 as the institution assumed greater proportions. 



In the contest which ensued, the abolishment of the African slave 

 trade was the first great event. The power of congress over foreign com- 

 merce was in this regard abridged by the constitution till 1808. But 

 promptly upon the expiration of the time limit, the importation of 

 slaves was prohibited. Subsequently, the antagonism between equality 

 and property in slaves was seldom in abeyance, but the enactment of the 

 Missouri compromise in 1820, its repeal in 1854, the Dred Scott de- 

 cision, and the Civil War were the four events of chief importance. The 

 first prohibited slavery in the territories north of 36° 30'. This was in 

 keeping with the spirit of the ordinance of 1787, and marked a tri- 

 umph for the advocates of equality. The second and third were victories 

 for the defenders of property in slaves but proved to be only temporary 

 triumphs. The crystallization of public opinion in the north against the 

 spread of slavery in the territories, and the rapid growth of population 

 in the free states threatened its very existence. The tide of events was 

 so strongly against the institution that southern leaders felt that delay 

 was fatal, and resolved to submit the issue to the sword. The fortunes of 

 war turned against them and resulted in a loss of slave property of two 

 thousand millions of dollars.'^ In the enthusiasm of the moment the 

 tide toward equality was so strong that three amendments were added 

 to the constitution. The first declared the negro a free man, the second 

 made him a citizen, and the third aimed at giving him the ballot on a 

 parity with whites. Doubtless the glamor of military success coupled 

 with resentment toward the south and the desire to place the ballot in 

 hands loyal to the federal government contributed to this result. None 

 the less, the three war amendments suggest how dear the ideal of equal- 

 ity is to the American heart. 



The Deed Scott Decision 



It is worth while to pause long enough here to consider briefly two 

 features of the Dred Scott decision. The first is the rule of judicial 

 interpretation which guided the majority of the court. In the light of 

 precedent and of the law narrowly and strictly interpreted, many law- 

 yers to-day hold the decision handed down by Judge Taney to have been 

 correct. But of those who subscribe to this view, a small but respectable 

 minority maintain that the decision was none the less erroneous on the 

 ground that it is the business of the courts to make precedents as well 

 as to be bound by them and to this end to interpret and apply the law 

 broadly in the light of the prevailing sense of justice. According to this 

 view there is no such hard and fast line of cleavage between the func- 



7 Blaine, "Twenty Years of Congress," Vol. 1, p. 174. 



