Dred Scott v. Sandford
The Court held that Black people, whether enslaved or free, were not citizens and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories.
Overview
Dred Scott, enslaved in Missouri, sued for freedom after residing in free states and territories with his owner. Chief Justice Taney wrote for a 7-2 majority that Scott lacked standing because Black people were not citizens under the Constitution, and that the Missouri Compromise ban on slavery north of a fixed line violated the due process rights of slaveholders. The ruling enraged the North, emboldened the South, and accelerated the march toward civil war. Dred Scott is widely regarded as the Court's greatest self-inflicted catastrophe and was overridden by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.
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