5. As part of the Dred Scott decision, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney argued in 1857 that Congress could not prohibit someone from
taking slaves into a federal territory because slaves were not citizens of the United States. Federal territories could not rule against slavery. Slave trade was still allowed in every state. Slaves were property, and property was defended by law.
Dred Scott decision was a watershed decision ruled by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1857. A suit was filed in the court by Dred Scott demanding his freedom from slavery. He claimed that since his owner took him to free state Illinois from Missouri, and died there, Dred considered himself a free slave. But was brought back to slavery under Missouri Compromise Act. In 1857, the Chief Justice Roger B. Taney ruled that Dred Scott is a slave, and the term 'citizen' does not apply to slaves, therefore, none of the rights provided for citizens of the US apply to Dred Scott.
