Today in History: Supreme Court Issues Dred Scott Decision

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On March 6, 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case, deciding 7-2 that Scott, an enslaved person, was not a U.S. citizen and therefore could not sue for his freedom in federal court. The Court also ruled that slavery could not be banned from any federal territory, further entrenching the institution of slavery and deepening the national divide in the years leading up to the Civil War.

Why it matters

The Dred Scott decision is considered one of the most consequential and controversial Supreme Court rulings in American history. It rejected the idea that enslaved people could be considered citizens, and it struck down the Missouri Compromise, which had prohibited slavery in certain federal territories. This ruling inflamed tensions between the North and South and is seen as a key event that pushed the country closer to the Civil War.

The details

In the Dred Scott v. Sandford case, the Supreme Court ruled that Scott, an enslaved man who had lived with his enslaver in free states and territories, was not a citizen and therefore could not sue for his freedom in federal court. The Court also struck down the Missouri Compromise, which had banned slavery in certain federal territories, arguing that Congress did not have the power to prohibit slavery in those areas.

• On March 6, 1857, the Supreme Court issued its landmark Dred Scott decision.
• In 1820, President James Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise, which allowed Missouri to join the Union as a slave state and Maine to join as a free state, while banning slavery in the northern portion of the Louisiana Territory.
• In 1836, the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, fell as Mexican forces led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna stormed the fortress after a 13-day siege.