the use he has made of the Dred
Scott decision?

_Answer_. Well, I think he has shown conclusively that the present
decision, under the present circumstances, is far worse than the
Dred Scott decision was under the then circumstances. The Dred
Scott decision was a libel upon the best men of the Revolutionary
period. That decision asserted broadly that our forefathers regarded
the negroes as having no rights which white men were bound to
respect; that the negroes were merely merchandise, and that that
opinion was fixed and universal in the civilized portion of the
white race, and that no one thought of disputing it. Yet Franklin
contended that slavery might be abolished under the preamble of
the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson said that if the slave should
rise to cut the throat of his master, God had no attribute that
would side against the slave. Thomas Paine attacked the institution
with all the intensity and passion of his nature. John Adams
regarded the institution with horror. So did every civilized man,
South and North.

Justice Harlan shows conclusively that the Thirteenth Amendment
was adopted in the light of the Dred Scott decision; that it
overturned and destroyed, not simply the decision, but the reasoning
upon which it was based; that it proceeded upon the ground that
the colored people had rights that white men were bound to respect,
not only, but that the Nation was bound to protect. He takes the
ground that the amendment was suggested by the condition of that
race, which had been declared by the Supreme Court of the United
States to have no rights which white men were bound to respect; that
it was made to protect people whose rights had been invaded, and
whose strong arms had assisted in the overthrow of the Rebellion;
that it was made for the purpose of putting these men upon a legal
authority with white citizens.

Justice Harland also shows that while legislation of Congress to
enforce a master's right was upheld by implication, the rights of
the negro do not depend upon that doctrine; that the Thirteenth
Amendment does not rest upon implication, or upon inference; that
by its terms it places the power in Congress beyond the possibility
of a doubt--conferring the power to enforce the amendment by
appropriate legislation in express terms; and he also shows that
the Supreme Court has admitted that legislation for that purpose
may be direct and primary. Had not the power been given in express