Dred Scott V. Sandford

Dred Scott v. Sandford Decided by: Taney Court Opinion: 60 U.S 393 (1857) Jamesha Williams

Case Facts • Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri. From 1833 to 1843, he resided in Illinois (a free state) and in an area of the Louisiana Territory, where slavery was forbidden by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. After returning to Missouri, Scott sued unsuccessfully in the Missouri courts for his freedom, claiming that his residence in free territory made him a free man. Scott then brought a new suit in federal court. Scott's master maintained that no pure-blooded Negro of African descent and the descendant of slaves could be a citizen in the sense of Article III of the Constitution.

Questions Raised • Was Dred Scott free or a slave? • Under the law, were slaves to be considered “persons” or property? • Could congress decide whether slavery would be banned from certain territories?

Conclusion Opinions • Dred Scott was a slave. Under Articles III and IV, argued Taney, no one but a citizen of the United States could be a citizen of a state, and that only Congress could confer national citizenship. Taney reached the conclusion that no person descended from an American slave had ever been a citizen for Article III purposes. The Court then held the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, hoping to end the slavery question once and for all.

QUESTIONS/ CONCLUSIONS

AMENDMENTS

Was Dred Scott free or a slave? Under Articles III and IV The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states.

RIGHTS/ LIBERTIES Dred Scott didn’t have the same rights

2 of Article I states that apart U.S supreme courts say slaves are Under the law, were slaves to Sectionfrom free persons "all other property and have no right to sue. be considered “persons” or persons," are each to be counted as three-fifths of a white person property?

Could congress decide whether slavery would be banned from certain territories? Can a negro, whose ancestors were imported into this country, and sold as slaves, become a member of the political community and as such become entitled to all the rights, and privileges, and immunities, guarantied by that instrument to the citizen?

Amendment 5

Section 2.

no person could "be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states.