The Dred Scott Case and the Supreme Court decision says how cruel American citizens and Supreme Court justices were in America in the 1850s and 1860s. Not only did parts of America own slaves and treat them badly, but the Dred Scott Case and the Supreme Court decision shows how African Americans were looked at and why society viewed them the way they did. The Supreme Court in the 1850s and 1860s stated that all African Americans were only viewed as property, not as normal U.S. citizens. Due to the fact that they were not U.S. citizens, they had no rights. According to Chief Justice Roger Taney, banning slavery, or setting Scott free in this case, was like taking property from slave owners, which was considered unconstitutional.
