Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857), was a US Supreme Court landmark decision.[1] In March 1857, the court ruled that blacks, whether slaves, or free, were not citizens of the United States.[2] They could not, therefore, sue in federal court.[2]
Dred Scott had sued in federal court and claimed that he was free because he had lived in free territory.[a] He lost his case in a ruling that has been condemned by many as the Supreme Court's worst decision.[5]
The Dred Scott case, which denied Scott his freedom by ruling that blacks were not US citizens, was the end of years of legal cases from 1846 to 1857 in lower federal district court and Missouri courts, which had granted Dred Scott freedom for about two years.
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