# Canonical recap data for Dred Scott Decision: Supreme Court Affirms Slavery (1857)
# Source: https://recap.at/1857/dred-scott-decision
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: dred-scott-decision
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1857/dred-scott-decision"
title: "Dred Scott Decision: Supreme Court Affirms Slavery"
aliases:
- Dred Scott v. Sandford
- Scott v. Sandford
- Taney Decision
subtitle: "Dred Scott Decision: Supreme Court Affirms Slavery"
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1857-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1857
decade: 1850
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: "Dred Scott Decision: Supreme Court Affirms Slavery (1857) - United States."
summaryLong: "Dred Scott Decision: Supreme Court Affirms Slavery (1857) - United States."
lede: On March 6, 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott, an enslaved man who had sued for his freedom, had no right to file suit because he was not a citizen. Chief Justice Roger Taney's majority opinion went further, declaring that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and that Black people-enslaved or free-had no rights under the Constitution. The decision inflamed sectional tensions and became a rallying point for abolitionists while emboldening slavery's defenders.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court.svg/1280px-Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court.svg.png"
heroImageCredit: Library of Congress
importance: 50
sourceConfidence: 55
keyFacts:
- label: Chief Justice
  value: Roger Taney
- label: Vote
  value: 7-2 majority
- label: Date
  value: March 6, 1857
- label: Plaintiff's Residence
  value: Missouri (slave state)
- label: Years Scott Lived in Free Territory
  value: Approximately 4 years (1834–1838, Illinois and Minnesota)
- label: Missouri Compromise Status
  value: Declared unconstitutional
- label: Dissenting Justices
  value: 2 (John McLean, Benjamin Curtis)
- label: Years to Civil War
  value: 4 years
timeline:
- date: 1834-01-01
  title: Dred Scott Moves North
  description: Scott is taken by his owner, Dr. John Emerson, to Illinois (free state) and later to Minnesota Territory (free territory), where he lives until 1838.
- date: 1846-01-01
  title: Scott Files Lawsuit
  description: After returning to Missouri as an enslaved person, Dred Scott sues in Missouri circuit court for his freedom based on his residence in free territory, launching a legal battle that will reach the Supreme Court.
- date: 1850-01-01
  title: Missouri Court Rules Against Scott
  description: The Missouri Supreme Court rules against Dred Scott, reversing prior precedent and holding that residence in free territory does not confer freedom once returned to a slave state.
- date: 1854-01-01
  title: Case Reaches Federal Court
  description: The case moves to federal circuit court as Scott v. Sandford (Sandford being the executor of Scott's former owner). The circuit court upholds the Missouri decision.
- date: 1856-12-15
  title: Supreme Court Oral Arguments
  description: The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the case. The bench signals its intent to address not just Scott's status but the broader constitutional question of slavery's scope.
- date: 1857-03-06
  title: Taney Issues Majority Opinion
  description: Chief Justice Roger Taney delivers the majority opinion, ruling that Black people-enslaved or free-are not citizens and cannot sue in federal court. The opinion further declares the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.
- date: 1857-03-06
  title: Dissents Filed
  description: Justice John McLean and Justice Benjamin Curtis file dissenting opinions, arguing that free Black people are citizens and that Congress has the power to prohibit slavery in territories.
- date: 1857-06-01
  title: Northern Press Reaction
  description: Northern newspapers and politicians condemn the decision as a proslavery coup. Abolitionists use the ruling to argue that the Constitution protects slavery nationwide and must be fundamentally reformed.
- date: 1858-06-16
  title: Lincoln-Douglas Debates Begin
  description: Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas contest the Dred Scott decision throughout their Illinois Senate debates, with Lincoln arguing the ruling threatens free labor ideology and Douglas defending popular sovereignty.
- date: 1861-04-12
  title: Civil War Begins
  description: The election of Lincoln and failure of compromise efforts lead to Confederate secession and the start of the Civil War, fundamentally reshaping the constitutional order that Taney had tried to settle.
sources: []
related: []
impactStatement: The decision crystallized the constitutional question of slavery's legality and scope, removing any middle ground. It radicalized both pro- and anti-slavery forces, making compromise increasingly impossible and accelerating the drift toward civil war. No Supreme Court ruling had so thoroughly aligned the bench with one region's interests.
categories:
- election
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- constitutional_reform
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- governance
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: conflict
metaDescription: Supreme Court ruled enslaved people were not citizens and slavery couldn't be banned in territories. Pushed nation toward civil war.
gallery:
- url: "https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/public:gdcmassbookdig:historyofuniteds01loss:historyofuniteds01loss_0011/full/pct:100.0/0/default.jpg#h=3603&w=2300"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/public:gdcmassbookdig:historyofuniteds01loss:historyofuniteds01loss_0011/full/pct:100.0/0/default.jpg#h=3603&w=2300"
  caption: (Previous hero, demoted by topical-relevance swap)
  credit: ""
  width: 0
  height: 0
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/A_legal_review_of_the_case_of_Dred_Scott%2C_as_decided_by_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States.djvu/page1-1280px-A_legal_review_of_the_case_of_Dred_Scott%2C_as_decided_by_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States.djvu.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/A_legal_review_of_the_case_of_Dred_Scott%2C_as_decided_by_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States.djvu/page1-1280px-A_legal_review_of_the_case_of_Dred_Scott%2C_as_decided_by_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States.djvu.jpg"
  caption: A legal review of the case of Dred Scott, as decided by the Supreme Court of the United States
  credit: Horace Gray
  width: 2470
  height: 3691
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/A_legal_review_of_the_case_of_Dred_Scott%2C_as_decided_by_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States_%28IA_01850543.4854.emory.edu%29.pdf/page1-960px-A_legal_review_of_the_case_of_Dred_Scott%2C_as_decided_by_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States_%28IA_01850543.4854.emory.edu%29.pdf.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/A_legal_review_of_the_case_of_Dred_Scott%2C_as_decided_by_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States_%28IA_01850543.4854.emory.edu%29.pdf/page1-960px-A_legal_review_of_the_case_of_Dred_Scott%2C_as_decided_by_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States_%28IA_01850543.4854.emory.edu%29.pdf.jpg"
  caption: A legal review of the case of Dred Scott, as decided by the Supreme Court of the United States (IA 01850543.4854.emory.edu)
  credit: |-
    Gray, Horace, 1828-1902
    Lowell, John, 1824-1897
  width: 1233
  height: 1843
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Report_of_the_select_committee_on_slavery%2C_the_Dred_Scott_decision%2C_and_the_action_of_the_federal_government_thereon%2C_submitted_Thursday%2C_Nov._18%2C_1858_%28IA_SlaveryTheDredScottDecision_vtrbms%29.pdf/page1-120px-thumbnail.pdf.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Report_of_the_select_committee_on_slavery%2C_the_Dred_Scott_decision%2C_and_the_action_of_the_federal_government_thereon%2C_submitted_Thursday%2C_Nov._18%2C_1858_%28IA_SlaveryTheDredScottDecision_vtrbms%29.pdf/page1-120px-thumbnail.pdf.jpg"
  caption: Report of the select committee on slavery, the Dred Scott decision, and the action of the federal government thereon, submitted Thursday, Nov. 18, 1858 (IA SlaveryTheDredScottDecision vtrbms)
  credit: Vermont. House of Representatives.
  width: 152
  height: 279
comparisonThenNow:
- metric: Number of enslaved people in the United States
  thenValue: approximately 4 million
  thenYear: 1857
  nowValue: 0 (slavery abolished)
  nowYear: 2024
  note: The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in 1865
- metric: Black Americans eligible to vote
  thenValue: virtually none (legally barred in almost all states)
  thenYear: 1857
  nowValue: 100% of adult Black citizens (15th Amendment, 1870; Voting Rights Act, 1965)
  nowYear: 2024
- metric: Black Americans with U.S. citizenship rights
  thenValue: legally denied by Dred Scott decision
  thenYear: 1857
  nowValue: guaranteed by 14th Amendment
  nowYear: 1868
- metric: Percentage of U.S. population that is Black
  thenValue: approximately 18%
  thenYear: 1860
  nowValue: approximately 13.4%
  nowYear: 2020
  note: Decline due to end of slavery and demographic shifts
consequences:
- title: Election of Abraham Lincoln
  year: 1860
  description: Lincoln's victory as the Republican candidate opposed to slavery's expansion was partially a response to the Dred Scott decision. Southern states' secession followed, precipitating the Civil War.
- title: American Civil War
  year: 1861
  description: The sectional tensions inflamed by Dred Scott and the slavery debate contributed to Southern secession and the outbreak of war in April 1861, ultimately resulting in over 600,000 deaths.
- title: 13th Amendment ratified
  year: 1865
  description: The amendment abolished slavery throughout the United States, directly overturning the principles underlying the Dred Scott decision and freeing approximately 4 million enslaved people.
- title: 14th Amendment ratified
  year: 1868
  description: The amendment granted citizenship to all people born in the United States and prohibited states from denying equal protection or due process, explicitly overruling Taney's claim that Black people were not citizens.
- title: 15th Amendment ratified
  year: 1870
  description: The amendment prohibited denying the right to vote based on race or previous condition of servitude, further dismantling the legal framework Dred Scott had attempted to establish.
culturalContext:
topMusic:
- title: John Brown's Body
  note: Popular abolitionist marching song, likely composed or popularized in the 1850s-1860s, connected to anti-slavery activism
topFilms: []
topTVShows: []
zeitgeistNote: "1857 America was a nation fracturing over slavery's future. The Dred Scott decision crystallized the fundamental constitutional dispute: whether slavery could expand into new territories and whether Black people had any rights the Constitution protected. Abolitionists intensified their activism, while slaveholders grew more entrenched. The ruling exposed the impossibility of compromise and accelerated the march toward civil war. Newspapers, political speeches, and pulpits debated the decision's implications ferociously. Within four years, Lincoln's election would trigger secession."
translations:
es:
lede: El 6 de marzo de 1857, la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos falló que Dred Scott, un hombre esclavizado que había demandado por su libertad, no tenía derecho a presentar una demanda porque no era ciudadano. La opinión mayoritaria del Presidente de la Corte Roger Taney fue más allá, declarando que la Compromiso de Missouri era inconstitucional y que las personas negras —esclavizadas o libres— no tenían derechos bajo la Constitución. La sentencia inflamó las tensiones seccionales y se convirtió en un punto de reunión para los abolicionistas mientras empoderaba a los defensores de la esclavitud.
summaryShort: "Decisión Dred Scott: Corte Suprema Afirma la Esclavitud (1857) - Estados Unidos."
summaryLong: "Decisión Dred Scott: Corte Suprema Afirma la Esclavitud (1857) - Estados Unidos."
generatedAt: "2026-06-09T02:40:19.148Z"
fr:
lede: Le 6 mars 1857, la Cour suprême des États-Unis a jugé que Dred Scott, un homme esclavagisé qui avait intenté une action en justice pour sa liberté, n'avait pas le droit d'engager des poursuites car il n'était pas un citoyen. L'opinion majoritaire du juge en chef Roger Taney allait plus loin, déclarant que le Compromis du Missouri était inconstitutionnel et que les personnes noires—qu'elles soient esclavagisées ou libres—n'avaient aucun droit en vertu de la Constitution. La décision a enflammé les tensions sectionnelles et est devenue un point de ralliement pour les abolitionnistes tout en enhardissant les défenseurs de l'esclavage.
summaryShort: "Dred Scott Decision: La Cour suprême affirme l'esclavage (1857) - États-Unis."
summaryLong: "Dred Scott Decision: La Cour suprême affirme l'esclavage (1857) - États-Unis."
generatedAt: "2026-06-09T02:40:21.122Z"
de:
lede: Am 6. März 1857 entschied der Oberste Gerichtshof der USA, dass Dred Scott, ein versklavter Mann, der seine Freiheit eingeklagt hatte, keine Klage einreichen durfte, da er kein Bürger war. Die Mehrheitsmeinung von Oberrichter Roger Taney ging weiter und erklärte, dass der Missouri-Kompromiss verfassungswidrig war und dass schwarze Menschen – versklavt oder frei – keine Rechte nach der Verfassung hatten. Die Entscheidung verschärfte regionale Spannungen und wurde zum Sammelpunkt für Abolitionisten, während sie die Verteidiger der Sklaverei ermutigte.
summaryShort: "Dred Scott Entscheidung: Oberster Gerichtshof bekräftigt Sklaverei (1857) – Vereinigte Staaten."
summaryLong: "Dred Scott Entscheidung: Oberster Gerichtshof bekräftigt Sklaverei (1857) – Vereinigte Staaten."
generatedAt: "2026-06-09T02:40:24.073Z"
