Final answer:
The result of the legal actions against Southam and Mandel involved the Dred Scott Case where his temporary freedom was overturned, the harsh sentencing of Angelo Herndon underscoring racial discrimination, and the Scottsboro case which set early precedents for civil rights despite its flawed due process.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the matter involving Southam and Mandel, there were two separate yet historically significant legal actions. Firstly, the case of Scott and his family, which began in the Missouri courts, involved an initial verdict that declared Scott and his family were free. However, their freedom was short-lived as the state Superior Court overturned this decision upon appeal, leading to Scott becoming the property of John Sanford. His continued legal fight reached the federal court system, culminating in known historical cases where justice was not in favor of the African American plaintiffs. This legal battle would later be famously known as the Dred Scott Case.
Meanwhile, in a different context related to racial inequality and legal proceedings, the case of Angelo Herndon highlights ongoing racial discrimination through the legal system in the Deep South. Herndon was sentenced under an old statute to a harsh twenty years of labor for leading a peaceful protest—an outcome indicating racial and political biases within the legal system. Though reduced from the death penalty initially permitted by the statute, the long-term sentence exemplifies the skewed justice of the era.
Lastly, the Scottsboro case, involving a group of black youths wrongfully accused of crimes, saw convictions that were later scrutinized for not providing due process under the Fourteenth Amendment due to inadequate legal representation and exclusive White juries. The Supreme Court intervened, and although most defendants still received long prison terms, they avoided the death penalty. This case was significant in setting precedents for the future civil rights movement, with Alabama finally issuing posthumous pardons in 2013. The aforementioned cases highlight the legal system's failure to protect African American rights during the 19th and 20th centuries, a cornerstone of the civil rights struggle.