The U.S. Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Sandford was handed down on March 6, 1857, 165 years ago today. Chief Justice Roger Taney gave the majority opinion, that all people of African descent were not U.S. citizens and could not sue in federal court; that the Fifth Amendment protected the property rights of slaveowners, for whom slaves were property; and that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, and therefore Congress could not prevent the spread of slavery. The decision further divided the nation.
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