ABSTRACT
The effect of a constitution lies wholly in the fact that men and women order their conduct according to what they read in the document. The Constitution of the United States commands enormous respect. The Constitution is expressed in language which ranges from statements so precise as to be nearly indisputable, through ambiguity and vague generality, to failure to say anything where one may think a statement is clearly needed. The significance of the Dred Scott case for establishment of judicial supremacy in constitutional interpretation is affected by a number of considerations relating to the jurisdiction of the lower federal court which heard the litigation in first instance. The remainder of the opinion is expressed in language which indicates that the judges regarded their statement as to what the Constitution means to be identical with the words of the Constitution itself in capacity to impose obligation on the rest of the nation.
