Question

nalyzing a seminal us document
\dred scott v. sandford\
by chief justice taney
mr. chief justice taney delivered the opinion of the court.
there are two leading questions presented by the record:

1. had the circuit court of the united states jurisdiction to hear and

determine the case between these parties?

1. if it had jurisdiction, is the judgment it has given erroneous or

not?
the plaintiff in error, who was also the plaintiff in the court below, was,
with his wife and children, held as slaves by the defendant, in the
state of missouri; and he brought this action in the circuit court of the
united states for that district, to assert the title of himself and his
family to freedom.
the defendant pleaded in abatement to the jurisdiction of the court.
which statement best describes the fallacy in this passage?
justice taney uses the argument that dred
scott is an enslaved person to prove that he is
not a citizen
justice taney uses the argument that black
people are not citizens to prove that they are
not citizens.
justice taney assumes that the writers of the
constitution would agree with him about

Explanation:

The fallacy here is circular reasoning (begging the question), where the conclusion is used as the premise. The option describes using the claim that Black people are not citizens to prove that same claim, which is a circular fallacy matching the flawed reasoning in the Dred Scott opinion.

Answer:

Justice Taney uses the argument that Black people are not citizens to prove that they are not citizens.