Historical Event
Dred Scott v. Sandford Supreme Court Decision (March 6, 1857)
On March 6, 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Dred Scott, holding that no Black person, enslaved or free, could ever be a U.S. citizen or had standing to sue in federal court, and further declaring the Missouri Compromise's restriction on slavery in the territories unconstitutional. Chief Justice Roger Taney's opinion went beyond the immediate case to assert that Black Americans had "no rights which the white man was bound to respect," a sweeping denial of legal personhood that inflamed sectional tensions and is widely regarded as the worst decision in the Court's history.
Why This Matters
This ruling matters because it shows how the highest levels of American law could be marshaled to foreclose Black citizenship entirely, not merely regulate slavery but deny personhood itself. Its legacy runs directly into the Civil War and the Reconstruction Amendments that were written specifically to overturn it, making it a hinge point in the long, unfinished argument over who counts as a full citizen in the diaspora's fight for recognition and rights.
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Black Reconstruction: The Congressmen, the Legislation, and the Collapse
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How Do We Know What We Know? An Introduction to the Curriculum's Questions
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Somerset v Stewart: A Narrow Ruling, Widely Misunderstood
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The Reality of the 'Closing' — The Second Middle Passage (1808–1815)
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