What was the central point of the dred Scott decison?

Answer 1

The central point of the Dred Scott decision, delivered by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857, was that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, could not be considered American citizens and therefore had no legal standing to sue in federal court. The Court also ruled that Congress lacked the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories, effectively invalidating the Missouri Compromise. This decision intensified sectional tensions and contributed to the onset of the Civil War.