Dred Scott Decision

American  

[dred] / ˌdrɛd ˈskɒt dɪˈsɪʒ ən /

noun

1. ScottScott, Dred2

---

Dred Scott decision Cultural  

1. A controversial ruling made by the Supreme Court in 1857, shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. Dred Scott, a slave, sought to be declared a free man on the basis that he had lived for a time in a “free” territory with his master. The Court decided that, under the Constitution, Scott was his master's property and was not a citizen of the United States. The Court also declared that the Missouri Compromise, which prohibited slavery in certain areas, unconstitutionally deprived people of property — their slaves. The Dred Scott decision was a serious blow to abolitionists (see abolitionism).

---

Example Sentences

The Supreme Court’s 1857 Dred Scott decision effectively removed all territorial restrictions on slavery.

From The Wall Street Journal

As Lincoln said in his speech on the Dred Scott decision, the men who drafted the declaration meant to establish “a standard maxim for free society” that would be “constantly looked to, constantly labored for, and even though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The Dred Scott decision, which ruled Black people ineligible for American citizenship, is widely taught in schools.

From Los Angeles Times

But it’s worth noting that earlier court majorities held that Black Americans — “beings of an inferior order,” in the words of the notorious Dred Scott decision — could be denied citizenship, that racial segregation was constitutional and that compulsory sterilization based on eugenics was perfectly legal.

From Los Angeles Times

The court’s ruling has more in common with the Dred Scott decision than with the original meaning of the 14th Amendment, which enshrined the right to birthright citizenship partially as a rebuke to the imperious Supreme Court that decided that shameful case.

From Slate