Dred Scott v. Sandford
Definition
Dred Scott v. Sandford was a landmark Supreme Court case in 1857 where the Court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be American citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court. The decision also declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, effectively allowing slavery in all U.S. territories.
Analogy
Imagine playing a game where certain players are told they cannot participate or have any say in the rules simply because of who they are, and then the referee removes boundaries that once limited where the game could be played. This is akin to what happened with the Dred Scott decision: it excluded African Americans from citizenship and participation in legal processes while also expanding where slavery could exist.
Related terms
Civil Rights Act of 1866: Defined all persons born in the United States as national citizens who were to enjoy equal rights regardless of race, counteracting the Dred Scott decision.
Fourteenth Amendment: Ratified in 1868, it granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," including former slaves, directly overturning Dred Scott v. Sandford.
Missouri Compromise: An act of Congress (1820) that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state while banning slavery north of the 36°30′ latitude line; declared unconstitutional by Dred Scott v. Sandford
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