1;, there will be nohing left of that nation, except a “withered branch”. This withered branch is a symbol of what the nation believed in and what could happen to it if it unfairly cast aside certain members of its society.Douglas also pointed out that the Declaration of Independence was one of the most valuable factors in the Nation’s destiny. The principles written in the Declaration of Independence should be kept and adhered to. “Be true to to them on all occasions”, wrote Douglas. He believed that most documents that were written after the Declaration of Independence didn’t follow the significant ideology set forth in the Declaration of Independence. Douglas wants to use the Constitution, but without the pro-slavery clause in it. In stark contrast to this, Justice Taney, who wrote the majority opinion of the court in the case of Dred Scott V. Sandford, dealt a major blow to the work of Frederick Douglas. In his opinion, Justice Taney uses the same reference points as Frederick Douglas, only to twist it, and give it a pro-slavery slant.Like Frederick Douglas, Justice Taney too makes mention of the Declaration of Independence, but in this case, to prove that blacks were never intended to maintain full legal citizen status here in the United States. This in itself was a very significant statement, being that the Declaration of Independence, for all intent and purposes, is not a legal document, and so, it is hardly ever used as a reference point in the courts. It seems almost as though Justice Taney was speaking directly Frederick Douglas on this matter. Justice Taney, in ruling on the question of black citizenship, not only dismisses the idea of blacks as legal citizens, but also that human beings. He bases this ruling on the letter of the law, but rather on the spirit of the law. Meaning, that since the birth of this country, although not written explicitly, though nonetheless obvious, that blacks w...
