The US Supreme Court, after years of lower court decisions, finally was presented with the Dredd Scott Case. This situation began in the 1830's. In 1857, the Court ruled against Dredd Scott, a slave that had sued for his freedom after his "owner" had died. The Chief Justice in 1857 was Roger B. Taney, a man from Maryland who was first appointed to the Court in 1836 by President Andrew Jackson.The Court rendered its decision on the Dredd Scott case and Chief Justice Taney wrote the majority decision. The ruling was by a 5 to 2 margin. The Court's decision was focused on two issues. One was this: Was Dredd Scott a US citizen and if so had the right to bring a law suit claiming his freedom. Clearly a slave was not a citizen. Scott's attorney's argued that he was a resident of Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory and thus he was a free man and a citizen with the right to sue.
Apparently, the Court was now having to face a second important question. This became a firestorm when it answered the following question: Did the US Congress, or any entity have the right to prohibit slavery in the territories?
If not, then Scott would neither be free nor a US citizen.
The Court's ruling was as follows:
According to the majority decision, Scott was not a citizen, not only because he was a slave, but also he was Black. Even if he had been free, Scott lacked the ability to sue because of his race.
By this decision, the Court proclaimed that only White people could be citizens and had the right to sue. Thus the answer to the original question was answered by the Court.
supreme court said that slaves couldn't sue for freedom because the were property
The US Supreme Court, lead by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, rejected the idea that slaves could be citizens of either their state residence or the United States. According to the Court, slaves were the property of their owners, which suggested they were less than human. As a result, African-Americans lacked standing to sue for their freedom.
taney as cheif justice of the supreme court helped decide that slaves were property
The best answer would be that slaves had no right to sue for freedom.
Yes, John Blair Jr owned slaves. He was a prominent figure during the American colonial period and was also a Supreme Court Justice. His ownership of slaves was documented in historical records.
taney as cheif justice of the supreme court helped decide that slaves were property
Chief Justice, Roger Taney, in the Dred Scott trial, when it reached the Supreme Court in 1857.
Amistad
Amistad
Roger B. Taney, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, presided over the Dred Scott v. Sandford case in 1857. In this landmark decision, Taney ruled that slaves, as property, did not have the right to sue in federal courts, effectively denying them access to legal recourse for their freedom. This decision further entrenched the institution of slavery in the United States at the time.
The slaves' freedom was denied by the concept that slaves were property, not human beings, and all human beings are free, but not property, so slaves were denied freedom due to the concept that slaves were property, not people.
They wanted to have freedom.