Answer:
The Dred Scott decision was the Supreme Court’s ruling on March 6, 1857, that having lived in a free state and territory did not entitle a slave, Dred Scott, to his freedom. In essence, the decision argued that as a slave Scott was not a citizen and could not sue in a federal court.
Explanation:
At a time when a majority of the justices came from pro-slavery states, the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford was one of the most controversial and highly criticized in the Supreme Court’s history. Issued just two days after pro-slavery President James Buchanan took office, the Dred Scott decision fueled the growing national divisiveness that led to the Civil War.
Supporters of enslavement in the South celebrated the decision, while abolitionists in the North expressed outrage. Among those most vocally upset by the ruling was Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, then a rising star in the newly organized Republican Party. As the focal point of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates, the Dred Scott case established the Republican Party as a national political force, deeply divided the Democratic Party, and contributed greatly to Lincoln’s victory in the 1860 presidential election.
During the post-Civil War Reconstruction period, ratification of the 13th and 14th Amendments effectively overturned the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision by abolishing enslavement, granting formerly enslaved Black Americans citizenship, and ensuring them the same “equal protection of the laws” granted to all citizens by the Constitution.
