{"id":10600,"date":"2017-09-20T11:52:27","date_gmt":"2017-09-20T18:52:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/?p=10600"},"modified":"2017-09-20T11:52:27","modified_gmt":"2017-09-20T18:52:27","slug":"10600-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/10600-2\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

From an Angry Reader:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear VDH,<\/p>\n

I faithfully read and enjoy your many commentaries on current events. But surely, as a historian, you should realize that Dred Scott was rightly decided, as I thought even in my youth. Even my reliably left-leaning constitutional-law professor colleague, who was shocked by my condemnation of Wickard v. Filburn<\/em>, agrees with me on this.<\/p>\n

Christopher Boorse<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Victor Davis Hanson\u2019s Reply:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Sort of Angry Reader Christopher Boorse,<\/p>\n

Your \u201cleft-leaning constitutional-law professor colleague\u201d I fear is sorely mistaken. If one accepts the narrow, amoral proposition that humans can be enslaved, and that chattel slaves are thus mere property of their masters to hunt down as they please, and as, American native-born, they still do not have rights and constitutional protections of citizenship, then I suppose Chief Roger B. Taney\u2019s decision was consistently logical.<\/p>\n

But I do not<\/em> accept any of those legal or moral assumptions, and so cannot accept that slavery can be either legal or moral, or that humans can become the mere property of other humans, or that those born in the United States to others born in the United States are not citizens with legal protections.<\/p>\n

The Dred Scott ruling represented the legal gymnastics of an ethically bankrupt mind\u2014and was seen as such within a few years. Taney could easily have overturned Southern-state statutes, by ruling that slavery was an innate denial of the protections offered by the Bill of Rights for those born in the United States, or a violation of the spirit of the Declaration of Independence or that in legal proceedings and punishment slavery violated the cruel and unusual punishment prohibition clause. But he did not and so rightly suffered history\u2019s condemnation.<\/p>\n

Victor Hanson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From an Angry Reader: Dear VDH, I faithfully read and enjoy your many commentaries on current events. But surely, as a historian, you should realize that Dred Scott was rightly decided, as I thought even in my youth. Even my reliably left-leaning constitutional-law professor colleague, who was shocked by my condemnation of Wickard v. Filburn, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-2KY","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12220,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-02-28-20\/","url_meta":{"origin":10600,"position":0},"title":"Angry Reader 02-28-20","author":"victorhanson","date":"February 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: Subject: Gray Matter Your articles are so offensively lacking in context, thoughtfulness, and reflection on history--basically simpleminded attack ads-- that I am going to erase the National Review\u2019s bookmark from my browser. And there is no case for Trump any more than there was a case\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11431,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-10-02-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":10600,"position":1},"title":"Angry Reader 10-02-2018","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: Dear Dr. Hanson, I am an angry reader. I am angry because my two candidates for Senator from the state of California are both evil and\/or just plain stupid. Who should I vote for? Or should I sit that choice out? I\u2019m leaning to the latter.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12593,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/angry-reader-08-30-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":10600,"position":2},"title":"Angry Reader 08-30-2020","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: Hello Professor Hanson, First let me say, I am a regular reader and viewer of yours. I relish your take on the important issues. This evening on Tucker Carlson Tonight with Brian Kilmeade 7\/16\/2020 you used some imprecise language that caused both me and my bride\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11220,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/06-11-2018-angry-reader\/","url_meta":{"origin":10600,"position":3},"title":"06-11-2018 Angry Reader","author":"victorhanson","date":"June 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: Subject: 1972 REDUX....The carnivores of civil liberties. \"You talk like a man with a paper ass\". Someone needs to enlighten you about the need to cite examples. How did you ever get your job at Stanford? Gary Seager \u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013 Dear Angry Reader Gary Seager, In such\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10967,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/02-09-18-angry-reader\/","url_meta":{"origin":10600,"position":4},"title":"02\/09\/18 Angry Reader","author":"victorhanson","date":"February 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry(?) Reader: Greetings Professor Hanson! For many years now, I have followed you on talk radio, TV interviews, YouTube videos, books and published articles. I greatly appreciate your commitment to truth, accurate history and the application of those two principles to current events. Your reasoning and observations are\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11174,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/05-02-18-angry-reader\/","url_meta":{"origin":10600,"position":5},"title":"05-02-18 Angry Reader","author":"victorhanson","date":"May 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"From An Angry Reader: Fake Claims. WE HAVE A CONGENITAL LIAR AS A PRESIDENT. HE HAS SCAMMED THE US WITH TAXES AND BANKRUPTCY. HE IS A SERIAL ADULTERER AND SEXUAL PREDATOR. EVEN AS I TEXT HIS BUSINESSES ARE PROFITING FROM MY HARD EARNED AND MEAGER INCOME. 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