History Homework Page 2

4.What were the consequences of the Dred Scott decision

for enslaved people?

The decision basically stated that:

Slaves are only property—

• they are not citizens

• they have no rights

Freed blacks could never be citizens either.

Neither slaves nor freed blacks could ever file a lawsuit

because they were not citizens.

The decision also stated:

Congress could not make any laws that limited slavery

(because any such law would violate the Constitution’s

protection of property rights of citizens).

Therefore, the Missouri Compromise was void.

In addition, it seemed to suggest that no state could be a

“free” state because states could not limit the ability of U.S.

citizens to buy, sell, and/or travel with their property (i.e.,

slaves).

This effectively ended (or seriously jeopardized) the idea of

popular sovereignty.

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