Which Supreme Court case would have had the biggest impact on enslaved people in the United States?

Asked by: Stephany Cummerata  |  Last update: February 12, 2026
Score: 4.8/5 (47 votes)

The decision of Scott v. Sandford, considered by many legal scholars to be the worst ever rendered by the Supreme Court, was overturned by the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution, which abolished slavery and declared all persons born in the United States to be citizens of the United States.

Which Supreme Court case had the greatest impact on race relations in the United States in the late 1800s?

Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision ruling that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal".

What are some Supreme Court cases that have affected African Americans?

Pivotal Civil Rights Supreme Court Cases

  • Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States and Shelby County v. Holder. ...
  • Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education. ...
  • Washington v. Davis and McCleskey v. Kemp. ...
  • Reed v. Reed and United States v. Virginia. ...
  • Loving v. Virginia and Obergefell v. Hodges.

What Supreme Court case ruled that slaves are not citizens?

On the morning of March 6, 1857, Chief Justice Taney read aloud the 7-2 majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford. The Scotts were not, and never could be, American citizens, the Court held, and therefore had no right to sue in federal court. They would remain enslaved.

What was Dred Scott most known for?

Dred Scott ( c. 1799 – September 17, 1858) was an enslaved African-American man who, along with his wife, Harriet, unsuccessfully sued for the freedom of themselves and their two daughters, Eliza and Lizzie, in the Dred Scott v.

The Supreme Court Case That Led to The Civil War | Dred Scott v. Sandford

27 related questions found

What are the worst Supreme Court decisions?

The Worst Supreme Court Decisions of All Time

  • Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857): Oh, the dreaded Dred. ...
  • Plessy v. ...
  • Lochner v. ...
  • Buck v. ...
  • Korematsu v. ...
  • Bowers v. ...
  • Bush v. ...
  • Citizens United v.

What is the most impactful Supreme Court case?

Importance: The Brown decision is heralded as a landmark decision in Supreme Court history, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) which had created the "separate but equal" doctrine.

What is the U.S. V Miller case about?

Miller was a Second Amendment test case, teed up with a nominal defendant by a district judge sympathetic to New Deal gun control measures. But the Supreme Court issued a surprisingly narrow decision. Essentially, it held that the Second Amendment permits Congress to tax firearms used by criminals.

What happened in Loving V, Virginia?

Unanimous decision for Loving

In a unanimous decision, the Court held that distinctions drawn according to race were generally "odious to a free people" and were subject to "the most rigid scrutiny" under the Equal Protection Clause.

Did Justice Harlan own slaves?

The Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to Kentucky, since the state was not part of the Confederacy. John Harlan owned a few household slaves, and he did not free them until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution forced him to in December 1865.

Were slaves U.S. citizens?

Slavery, which defined Black people as property, not as citizens, had shaped the United States since its founding. In order for the 14th Amendment to become the new law of the land, it would need more than a ratification—it would need Reconstruction.

What was the impact of Dred Scott?

Missouri's Dred Scott Case, 1846-1857. In its 1857 decision that stunned the nation, the United States Supreme Court upheld slavery in United States territories, denied the legality of black citizenship in America, and declared the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional.

Which Supreme Court decision impacted the debate over slavery?

The decision of Scott v. Sandford, considered by many legal scholars to be the worst ever rendered by the Supreme Court, was overturned by the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution, which abolished slavery and declared all persons born in the United States to be citizens of the United States.

What was the Warren Court known for?

The Warren Court expanded civil rights, civil liberties, judicial power, and the federal power in dramatic ways. It has been widely recognized that the court, led by the liberal bloc, created a major "Constitutional Revolution" in U.S. history.

Was Roger Taney pro-slavery?

However, Taney would gain the most notoriety from his decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857). Although he was from the South, Taney personally didn't believe in the institution of slavery, having emancipated his slaves in 1818.

Why is the Miller v. Alabama case important?

Ten years ago, the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Miller v. Alabama. The Court held that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children 17 or younger convicted of homicide were unconstitutional.

What was the impact of Miller v. California?

Miller made it easier for states to create laws that properly defined obscenity and provided a firmer basis for prosecution, and the Court soon began to decline review of obscenity cases, which flooded the dockets of state courts after this decision.

What was the DC V Heller case about?

Specifically, District of Columbia v. Heller decided that there was an individual right to a firearm to defend “hearth and home.” While this did upend two centuries of precedent, the Supreme Court's new interpretation of the Second Amendment still considered many gun laws as constitutional.

What is the biggest case in U.S. history?

Introduction. Myra Clark Gaines' 19th century fight over an enormous inheritance is still the longest-running civil lawsuit in American history, taking over 60 years to finally find some kind of resolution. The United States Supreme Court called her case "the most remarkable in the records."

What is the biggest case of the Supreme Court?

(Writ Petition (Civil) 135 of 1970), also known as the Kesavananda Bharati judgement, was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of India that outlined the basic structure doctrine of the Indian Constitution. The case is also known as the Fundamental Rights Case.

Who is the greatest Supreme Court justice of all time?

Supreme Court of the United States. John Marshall is one of the most influential justices to have served on the Supreme Court of the United States, if not the most influential.

What is the stupidest court case?

We all know the most famous frivolous lawsuit story. Stella Liebeck sued McDonald's back in 1992 when she spilled hot coffee on herself. "But coffee is meant to be hot" we all cry. Dig a little deeper into the case however and it starts to look less frivolous.

What is the most famous U.S. Supreme Court case?

In 1954, the Supreme Court declared in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The decision itself was transformative, and equally as remarkable is the fact that it was unanimous.

What is the most famous court case ever?

The Top-77 Most Famous Trials in History

  1. O.J. Simpson. ...
  2. Casey Anthony. Defendant: Young Florida mother Casey Anthony. ...
  3. Al Capone. Defendant: Notorious gangster Alphonse “Scarface” Capone. ...
  4. Ted Bundy. Defendant: Infamous serial killer Theodore Robert Bundy. ...
  5. Socrates. ...
  6. Black Sox Scandal. ...
  7. The Menendez Brothers. ...
  8. Michael Jackson.