Go to next caseThis was considered one of the most ill-conceived decisions in the history of the Supreme Court. The case concerned a slave, Dred Scott, who had traveled into a "free soil" state with his master. At that time a "free soil" state was one where slavery was prohibited. The court declared the "free soil" federal laws, which held that any slave on free soil was no longer the property of his master, were unconstitutional because they deprived a slave owner of the right to receive just compensation from the government for deprivation of property. Justice Tanney summed up the court's argument when he wrote "Though Congress could acquire territories and prepare them for state hood it does not have a broader police power within the areas." No word in the Constitution can be found that gives Congress a greater power over slave property, or whihc entitles property of that kind to less protection, than property of any other description. The Court also held that blacks could not become citizens and therefore were not entitled to the priveleges and immunities entitled to Americans. This decision on citizenship was later overturned by the Fourteenth Amendment.
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