Dred Scott
Dred Scott was a slave in the
United States who sued
unsuccessfully for
his freedom in the Dred Scott v.
Sandford case of 1857. His case
was based on the fact that he
and his wife Harriet Scott were
slaves, but had lived in states
and territories where slavery
was illegal.
First Attempt
In this ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that slaves were not citizens
of the United States and, therefore, could not expect any protection from
the Federal Government or the courts. The opinion also stated that
Congress had no authority to ban slavery from a Federal territory.
The Court first had to decide whether it had jurisdiction. In total, six
Justices agreed with the ruling and Chief Justice Taney delivered the
opinion of the Court. Article 3 Section 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution
provides that “the judical Power shall extend..to Controversies..between
Citizens of different states..” The Court held that Scott was not a “citizen of
state” within the meaning of the United States Constitution. Chief Justice
Taney reached the conclusion that no person descended from an American
slave had ever been a citizen for Article 3 purposes. The majority opinion
stated that slaves were not citizens of the United States and, therefore,
could not expect any protection from the Federal Government or the
courts.
POLITICAL
The expansion of the territories and resulting admission of new states
would mean a loss of political power for the North, as many of the new
states would be admitted as slave states, and counting slaves as threefifths of a person would add to their political representation in Congress.
13TH AMENDMENT

The thirteenth amendment
officially abolished slavery
and continues to prohibit
slavery and involuntary
servitude, except as
punishment for a crime.
14TH AMENDMENT

The amendment provides a
broad definition of
citizenship, overruling the
decision in Dred Scott v.
Sanford, which had
excluded slaves from
possessing Constitutional
rights.
Many thought this decision would bring slavery to the attention of the
nation and was a step toward slavery’s ultimate destruction. This decision
also moved the nation one step closer to the Civil War.
www.wikipedia.com
www.pbs.org
www.landmarkcases.org
www.ourdocuments.gov