The Dred Scott Decision was a landmark Supreme Court case in Black history that further entrenched and institutionalized racism in the United States. Dred Scott was an enslaved African American man who had been taken by his master to live in free states and territories where slavery was prohibited. In 1857, Scott sued for his freedom on the basis that his residence in free territories should have made him a free man.

The Supreme Court, in its decision, ruled that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, were not considered citizens of the United States and therefore could not sue in federal court. Furthermore, the Court declared that the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had banned slavery in certain territories, was unconstitutional, effectively allowing for slavery to exist in all states and territories.

The Dred Scott Decision deepened the divide between North and South, fueled abolitionist sentiments, and was a major catalyst for the Civil War. It also highlighted the dehumanization and institutionalized racism that plagued the legal system and society at large in the United States.