The Dred Scott Decision was a landmark court ruling in U.S. history that had significant implications for Black Americans.

Dred Scott was a slave who, along with his wife Harriet, sued for their freedom in 1846, claiming they should be free because they had lived in free states and territories where slavery was prohibited. The case made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivered the majority opinion in 1857.

The Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, ruled against Dred Scott, stating that Black people, whether free or enslaved, were not and could never be U.S. citizens. The Court also declared that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories, essentially invalidating the Missouri Compromise of 1820.

The Dred Scott Decision was a major victory for slaveholders and a significant blow to the abolitionist movement. It further entrenched the institution of slavery and heightened tensions between Northern and Southern states leading up to the Civil War.

The decision is widely regarded as one of the worst in Supreme Court history and is a dark chapter in American jurisprudence. It also served as a catalyst for the abolitionist cause and helped galvanize public opinion against slavery in the years leading up to the Civil War.