Dred Scott v. Sandford

An 1857 U.S. Supreme Court decision that denied U.S. citizenship to Black people of African descent and held Congress could not prohibit slavery in federal territories.

Roger B. Taney: Roger B. Taney was the fifth chief justice of the United States, serving from 1836 to 1864. Taney wrote the majority opinion, including its sweeping account of citizenship and federal power.
Harriet Scott: Harriet Scott was an enslaved woman who joined her husband Dred Scott in suing for freedom in Missouri. Her suit was consolidated with her husband’s and helped bring their family’s claims before the Court.
Abraham Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States and led the Union during the Civil War. Lincoln condemned the ruling during the 1858 debates and made its implications central to national politics.
United States v. Wong Kim Ark: United States v. Wong Kim Ark was an 1898 Supreme Court case affirming birthright citizenship for a U.S.-born child of Chinese parents. It affirmed a broad constitutional citizenship rule inconsistent with the decision’s exclusion of Black people.
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution: The Fifth Amendment limits federal power and protects rights including due process of law. The majority treated the amendment’s due-process protection of property as a barrier to banning slavery in territories.
Missouri Compromise: The Missouri Compromise was an 1820 federal agreement that admitted Missouri as a slave state and restricted slavery in parts of the Louisiana Purchase. Its restriction became a target of the Court’s ruling on Congress’s territorial authority.
Republican Party: The Republican Party was founded in the 1850s by opponents of slavery’s expansion into U.S. territories. The ruling reinforced the party’s claim that slaveholding interests sought to control national policy.
Corfield v. Coryell: Corfield v. Coryell was an 1823 federal circuit court decision discussing privileges and immunities associated with U.S. citizenship. Its account of citizenship and rights offers a contemporary legal point of comparison.
Citizenship Clause: The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment grants U.S. citizenship to people born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction. It later constitutionalized a citizenship rule directly at odds with the decision’s denial of Black citizenship.
Kansas–Nebraska Act: The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 organized two territories and allowed settlers to decide whether slavery would be permitted. Its repeal of the Missouri Compromise intensified the dispute over slavery in federal territories.

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