At stake in Dred Scott were the boundaries of the political community entitled to the law’s protection and able to claim rights under it. Greene says that the Framers saw Constitutional rights as necessary to protect the rights granted by states and local governments from federal intrusion. The views of the Framers failed to protect people when those local majorities trampled on the rights of Black people and others. Holmes took the view that there are Constitutional rights, and these must be given maximum protection. The question for courts is the extent to which rights are respected when they conflict with other rights or the rights of society.
