What legal ruling did the Dred Scott case affirm regarding enslaved individuals?

The Dred Scott case is a landmark Supreme Court decision that significantly shaped the legal status of enslaved individuals in the United States. The ruling affirmed that enslaved persons were not considered U.S. citizens under the Constitution and therefore had no legal standing to sue in federal court. This determination was rooted in the prevailing views of race and citizenship at the time, which upheld the notion that Black individuals, whether enslaved or free, were regarded as inferior and not entitled to the rights and protections granted to citizens.

This ruling had wide-ranging effects, as it reinforced the legality of slavery and contributed to the tensions leading up to the Civil War. It underscored the systemic inequities that existed regarding race and citizenship in the 19th century United States. By declaring that enslaved individuals like Dred Scott had no legal rights, the case deepened the socio-political divides of the era and underscored the legal disenfranchisement faced by Black Americans.