On this day in 1857,

Supreme Court Issues Dred Scott Decision Holds African Americans Cannot Be Citizens

On this day in 1857, the Supreme Court denied freedom to Dred Scott on the premise that African Americans, whether free or slaves, were and could not be citizens of the United States. Scott had claimed he should be considered free because of time he spent in various free states and territories, including the Wisconsin Territory. There were two dissenting justices, one being John McLean, a Jackson Democrat, who in 1860 lost the Republican nomination for president to Abraham Lincoln.

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