Dred Scott v. Sandford

Week 11 — Race — Pre–Strict Scrutiny

Facts

Dred Scott, a slave owned in Missouri by John Emerson, was taken into Illinois, a free state. After Emerson died, John Sanford, a resident fo New York, administered his estate.

  • Scott sued Sanford in federal court, basing jurisdiction on diversity, and claimed that his residence in Illinois made him a free person.

Issue

Whether African Americans—whether enslaved or free—were "citizens" within the meaning of Article III who could sue in federal court.

Holding

No. African Americans were viewed purely as property, not as citizens with the right to sue in federal court.

Reasoning

  • "All men are created equal" does not include African Americans.
  • Because Scott was not a "citizen," the federal courts had no diversity jurisdiction.

Notes

  • Widely regarded the worst case in SCOTUS history.
  • Dred Scott sits with Plessy v. Ferguson in the pre–strict-scrutiny era of race jurisprudence; both predate any modern Equal Protection analysis (the 14th Amendment had not yet been ratified when Dred Scott was decided).
  • Any modern constitutional stance or analysis that would implicitly validate Dred Scott or Plessy is wholly baseless.
  • Effectively repudiated by the 13th and 14th Amendments, and later by Brown v. Board of Education.