Dred Scott vs Sanford

<3 15 February 2017 <3

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. When Dr. Emerson died (his owner), his wife sent the Dread Scott and his family to work for other families in St. Louis. This made Dred Scott upset so he sued for the mistreatment of his family and for their freedom, because they resided in places that didn't allow slavery so he should've been set free.

What was the ruling?

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.