Dred Scott

The Dred Scott case, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857, involved an enslaved man named Dred Scott who sued for his freedom after living in free territories. The Court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be American citizens and therefore lacked the right to sue in federal court. Additionally, the Court declared that the federal government could not prohibit slavery in the territories, which intensified national tensions over slavery. The decision effectively denied citizenship and rights to Black people and is widely regarded as one of the worst Supreme Court rulings in U.S. history.