Alfred L. Brophy, University of Alabama, has posted a new essay, Considering Reparations for the Dred Scott Case. It is forthcoming in DRED SCOTT, Christopher Bracy, David Konig, and Paul Finkelman, eds., 2008. Here's the abstract:
Considering Reparations for the Dred Scott Case, which was prepared for a volume reassessing Dred Scott on its 150th anniversary, asks how the case might fit into discussion of reparations for slavery. Is some reparative action advisable for that case standing by itself? Or might Dred Scott be used as part of a larger discussion. The brief essay begins with a brief assessment of where the movement for reparations for slavery is right now; then it turns to the case and asks what the Supreme Court's culpability might be and what, if any, harm the opinion causes today. The paper then turns to what reparations models might fit Dred Scott today, including a truth commission, apology, or reconstructed doctrine surrounding the Reconstruction Amendments.
