Existing comment:
African Americans -- Slave or Free -- Are Not Citizens
The Dred Scott decision in 1857 was intended by its author, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, to settle the citizenship question for African Americans. Scott (1795–1858) was a slave in Missouri who was taken to the free state of Illinois and the free federal territory of Wisconsin by his master before returning to Missouri. Abolitionists sued on Scott's behalf, arguing that since he had lived in a free state and a free territory, he should be declared free. Dred Scott v. Sanford declared that a person of "the African race, whose ancestors were brought to this country and sold as slaves is not a ‘citizen' within the meaning of the Constitution of the United States," and they had none of the rights, privileges, or immunities guaranteed to U.S. citizens. The case also invalidated the Missouri Compromise, suggesting that Congress could not abolish slavery without amending the Constitution. |