Dred Scott v. Sandford

Case Overview

In 1857, the Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott — a man who had been enslaved — was not a citizen of Missouri or the United States and therefore couldn't even bring a lawsuit in federal court, holding that Black Americans had no rights the white man was bound to respect. The decision was so catastrophic that it helped accelerate the Civil War and was directly repudiated by the 14th Amendment, which establishes birthright citizenship for all persons born in the United States. Bryan covers it as the reason the 14th Amendment says what it says — you can't understand 'all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens' without understanding what Dred Scott said first.

Legal Issues

BrynoDC Coverage 2 videos