What happened during the Dred Scott Court Case. summarize the event
The Dred Scott Court Case was a landmark decision in 1857 by the United States Supreme Court. Dred Scott was an enslaved African American who had lived in a free state and a free territory, which raised the question of his legal status. Scott sued for his freedom, contending that living in a free territory made him a free man.
However, in a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against Scott. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote the majority opinion, stating that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, were not and could not become citizens of the United States. The court declared that the U.S. Constitution did not grant rights to African Americans and that the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which restricted slavery in certain territories, was unconstitutional.
This decision had significant implications. It upheld the institution of slavery and declared that enslaved people had no rights under the Constitution. Moreover, it intensified the sectional tensions between the North and South, eventually leading to the American Civil War. The Dred Scott decision is often remembered as one of the most controversial and divisive decisions in American judicial history.