: The court ruled that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, were not and could never be citizens of the United States and therefore had no right to sue in federal court.
: The case, known as Dred Scott v. Sandford , reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivered a ruling that stunned the nation: Dred.7z
: Under the legal principle of "once free, always free," the Scotts argued that their residence in free territory made them legally free. While they won an initial trial in 1850, the decision was overturned by the Missouri Supreme Court. : The court ruled that African Americans, whether