Dred Scott v. Sandford, (1856), also known as the Dred Scott Case, was a lawsuit, pivotal in the history of the United States, decided by the United States Supreme Courtin 1857 that ruled that people of African descent, whether or not they were slaves, could never be citizens of the United States , and that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in federal territories. It was also ruled that slaves could not sue in court, and that slaves were private property, and, being private property, could not be taken away from their owners without due process.
The decision sided with Border Ruffians in the Bleeding Kansas dispute who were afraid a free Kansas would be a haven for runaway slaves from Missouri. It enraged abolotionists.
The parts of this decision dealing with the citizenship and rights of African-Americans were explicitly nullified by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.
In October 1837, Emerson was moved to St. Louis, Missouri but left Scott and Scott's wife behind for several months, hiring them out. Hiring out Scott constituted slavery, and was clearly illegal under the Missouri Compromise, the Wisconsin Enabling Act, and the Northwest Ordinance.
In February 1846, Scott tried to purchase his freedom from Irene Emerson, but she refused.
In April 1846, he sued for his freedom, arguing that since he had been in both a free state and a free territory he had become legally free, and could not have afterwards reverted to being a slave.
