Episode 26: Dred Scott: The Supreme Court’s Most Infamous Decision

Creating America · Sep 10, 2026 · 17m · transcript

Dred Scott v. Sandford, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857, is one of the most consequential and controversial decisions in American history.

The Court ruled that Dred Scott, an enslaved man who had lived in free territory, was not a citizen and therefore could not sue in federal court. The decision also declared that Congress did not have the constitutional authority to prohibit slavery in the federal territories, effectively striking down the Missouri Compromise.

Rather than settling the nation’s growing conflict over slavery, the decision deepened the divide between North and South…