What was the causes and effects of Dred Scott?

Answer 1

The Dred Scott decision, delivered by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857, was primarily caused by tensions over slavery and the status of enslaved people in free territories. The ruling stated that African Americans could not be citizens and that Congress lacked the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories, deepening sectional divides. Its effects included heightened tensions leading up to the Civil War, a galvanization of the abolitionist movement, and a significant setback for the rights of enslaved individuals and free blacks in America. The ruling ultimately underscored the failures of the political system to address the issue of slavery.