Final answer:
The Dred Scott ruling by the United States Supreme Court in 1857 declared that Dred Scott, an enslaved African American, had no standing to sue in federal court because blacks could not be citizens of the United States. The ruling also stated that residence in a free territory did not make a slave free upon returning to slave territory, and that Congress had no authority to bar slavery in the territories, making the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Dred Scott ruling, issued by the United States Supreme Court in 1857, declared that Dred Scott, an enslaved African American, had no standing to sue in federal court because blacks could not be citizens of the United States. The ruling also stated that residence in a free territory did not make a slave free upon returning to slave territory, and that Congress had no authority to bar slavery in the territories, making the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.