Read the passage from the opinion of the court in dred scott v. sandford, written by justice taney.

the question before us is, whether the class of persons described in the plea in abatement compose a portion of this people, and are constituent members of this sovereignty? we think they are not, and that they are not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word "citizens" in the constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the united states. on the contrary, they were at that time considered as a subordinate and inferior class of beings, who had been subjugated by the dominant race, and, whether emancipated or not, yet remained subject to their authority, and had no rights or privileges but such as those who held the power and the government might choose to grant them.

which statement best serves as a counterclaim to the claim in this passage?

a) taney fails to provide any actual evidence for his statements that african americans were universally considered inferior.
b) taney cannot use states’ rights to claim that the plaintiff is not a citizen, because citizenship is federal.
c) taney’s argument that emancipated people were still controlled by whites is false because they were free.

A) Taney fails to provide any actual evidence for his statements that African Americans were universally considered inferior.

Explanation:

In this passage, Justice Taney explains the reasons why he believes that citizenship is not meant to apply to Black people. However, his main claim is that citizenship was not meant to apply to them because, at the time the Constitution was written, Black people were considered to be universally inferior to white people. However, Justice Taney does not provide evidence for this, except for his own opinion.

a compare and contrast essay is a piece of formal writing in which the author focus on the similarities between two ideas, objects, places, etc., and the differences between them. there are some aspects that the author should take into account when he/she is crafting the essay. first, the author has a clear idea of the effect that he/she wants to produce on the audience (a purpose). his/her main idea should be presented in the thesis statement in a simple but effective way which gives the audience a clear idea of the content and the direction of the essay. in addition, it is also important to focus to the similarities and differences that not only are interesting and relevant to the reader but also provide a new, impressive point of view or deeper understanding of a topic.