1.Dred Scott was the plaintiff (the person who sued the defendant) in this case. Why did he sue the Emersons and John Sanford? What was his goal?
2.Summarize the basic argument that Scott's lawyers used to support his case. Did Dred Scott have reason to believe that he would win his case?
3.Why was a new case brought to the federal court system? What circumstances made the case a federal question?
4.How do you think the bitter political climate of the day affected Dred Scott's chances of winning his case?

Analyze the quotation below in the context of european exploration in the americas. as you read the quote, think about what it says about columbus's motivations to explore. was he interested in gaining knowledge, wealth, or both? how did his motivations influence how he treated the people already living in the americas? i did not try to examine them in detail, because it could not be done in 50 years. for my desire is to see and discover as much as i can before returning to your highnesses, our lord willing, in april. it is true that in the event of finding places where there is gold or spices in quantity i should stop until i had collected as much as i could. i, therefore, proceed in the hope of coming across such places.