By Cisca and Nick
Dred Scott was a slave from Missouri, whose master took him to Illinois. Illinois was a non-slave state. Dred Scott believed that because he was in free territory, that he was a free man. In 1854 Dred Scott sued the federal court for his freedom. He was ruled against, but appealed to the supreme court. Chief Justice Roger Taney wrote the courts decision that because Dred Scott was a slave, he was not a citizen, and could not even file a law suit. The Supreme Court also ruled that African Americans are not and never will be citizens. Dred Scott remained a slave. This is important because it created social unrest to all slaves and it perminantely diminished their rights as human beings. Chief Justice Roger Taney claimed that if congress banned slavery, it is a violation of the fifth ammendment because they would be taking away someones property without due process of law. This case ended congressional efforts to ban slavery in the United States. This was one of the major stepping stones towards the civil war.
Other Justices of the Supreme Court (Justice John Mclean and Justice Benjamin Curtis) showed that the Supreme Court had the right to "make all needful rules and regulations" and that the U.S. and State Constitutions considered African Americans Citizens.
