The significance of Dred Scott v. Sanford is that it was a landmark Supreme Court case in 1857 that had major implications for the institution of slavery in the United States. The Court ruled that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, were not citizens and therefore did not have rights under the Constitution. Additionally, the Court declared that the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had restricted the spread of slavery into certain territories, was unconstitutional. This decision intensified tensions between the North and the South, further fueling the debate over slavery that would eventually lead to the American Civil War.
