Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 83.djvu/548

544 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 commerce 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 decision, 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 triumph 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 equality is to the American heart.

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 lawyers 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