Dred Scott v. Sandford

E54704

Dred Scott v. Sandford was an 1857 U.S. Supreme Court decision that infamously denied citizenship and constitutional rights to African Americans and helped accelerate tensions leading to the Civil War.


Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
constitutional law case
landmark court decision
alsoKnownAs Dred Scott case
Dred Scott decision
chiefJusticeAtTime Roger B. Taney
citation 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857)
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted Article III of the United States Constitution
Article IV of the United States Constitution
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
country United States
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1857-03-06
defendant John F. A. Sandford
effect heightened sectional tensions between North and South
helped accelerate events leading to the American Civil War
invalidated federal restrictions on slavery in certain territories
fullName Dred Scott v. Sandford
historicalContext pre–American Civil War era
impactOnCitizenshipLaw denied U.S. citizenship to persons of African descent
impactOnCivilRights denied federal constitutional protections to African Americans
jurisdiction federal question jurisdiction
keyConcept property rights in enslaved persons
substantive due process
legalIssue African American citizenship
constitutionality of the Missouri Compromise
slavery in United States territories
standing to sue in federal court
majorityHolding African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be citizens of the United States
Congress lacked power to prohibit slavery in the federal territories
Dred Scott, as an African American slave, lacked standing to sue in federal court
The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional
majorityOpinionBy Roger B. Taney
originatedIn Missouri state courts
overruledBy Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
party Dred Scott
John F. A. Sandford
plaintiff Dred Scott
regardedAs one of the worst decisions in U.S. Supreme Court history
relatedTo American Civil War
Missouri Compromise of 1820
Reconstruction Amendments
subjectMatter civil rights
federalism
slavery
timePeriod 19th century
unitedStatesReportsPage 393
volumeOfUnitedStatesReports 60 U.S.


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