"A Black Man Has No Rights" — The Dred Scott Decision (1857)
1857. The Supreme Court ruled 7-2: Black Americans were not citizens and had no right to sue. Congress had never had the power to restrict slavery. The last door to compromise closed.
One Man's Lawsuit
Dred Scott. An enslaved man in Missouri.
His owner had taken him to live in Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory — both free soil — for several years.
Scott sued for his freedom. "I lived on free land. I should be a free man."
The lawsuit began in 1846. It took 11 years to reach the Supreme Court.
The Ruling
March 6, 1857. The Supreme Court decided.
7 to 2.
Chief Justice Roger Taney delivered the opinion.
"A Black man has no rights which the white man is bound to respect. Black Americans are not citizens under the Constitution and have no standing to sue in federal court."
The Second Blow
It didn't stop there.
"Congress has no constitutional authority to prohibit slavery in the territories."
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 — the law that had held the nation together for 37 years — was unconstitutional.
Voided. Gone.
Explosion
The North erupted in outrage.
The Republican Party surged. Lincoln rose. The Lincoln-Douglas debates followed.
The South celebrated — believing slavery was now permanently protected.
There was no more room for compromise. Only war remained.
Dred Scott himself was freed the following year. He died 16 months later.
Decision: March 6, 1857 | Vote: 7-2 | Effect: Missouri Compromise voided | Scott freed: May 1857 | Scott died: September 1858
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