What was the effect of the Dred Scott decision?
A. Congress could not prohibit slavery.
B. Slavery was abolished in the South.
C. Maine was admitted as a slave state.
A?
The correct answer is A. The effect of the Dred Scott decision was that Congress could not prohibit slavery. In the 1857 Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Court ruled that African Americans, both enslaved and free, were not considered American citizens and therefore had no rights. The decision also declared that Congress did not have the power to regulate slavery in the territories, effectively invalidating the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and leading to heightened tensions between the North and South over the issue of slavery.
Yes, the effect of the Dred Scott decision was that Congress could not prohibit slavery. However, let me explain how we arrived at this answer.
The Dred Scott decision was a landmark ruling by the United States Supreme Court in 1857. It stemmed from a legal case brought by Dred Scott, an enslaved African American man, who sued for his freedom.
In the decision, the Supreme Court ruled against Dred Scott's claim to freedom. The court held that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, were not considered citizens and therefore could not bring a lawsuit in federal court. The court further declared that Congress did not have the power to regulate slavery in the territories, effectively nullifying the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had prohibited slavery in certain territories.
As a result of the Dred Scott decision, the option to restrict or ban slavery in new territories was removed. This decision was highly divisive and deepened the sectional tensions between the North and the South in the years leading up to the American Civil War.
So, in relation to your initial question, option A - Congress could not prohibit slavery - is the correct answer to what effect the Dred Scott decision had.