Final answer:
The Dred Scott case was a Supreme Court ruling in 1857 that denied citizenship to Black people and declared that Congress lacked the power to impede the expansion of slavery. This decision contributed to the tensions that led to the Civil War.
Step-by-step explanation:
Dred Scott v. Sandford was an 1857 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that Black people could not be citizens and Congress had no jurisdiction to impede the expansion of slavery. The case involved Dred Scott, a slave who had been taken by his owner to free territories and states, and then returned to a slave state.
Scott sued for his freedom, but the Court ruled against him, stating that Black people (whether free or enslaved) were not U.S. citizens and that Congress had no power to restrict slavery in territories acquired after the Constitution was ratified.
The Dred Scott decision had significant repercussions and contributed to the tensions that led to the Civil War. The ruling declared that Congress could not impede the expansion of slavery, even in territories where it had been previously banned.
This decision angered Republicans and abolitionists who opposed the spread of slavery and believed it violated the principles of the U.S. Constitution. It intensified the sectional strife between the North and the South, further polarizing the nation and deepening the divide over slavery, ultimately leading to the outbreak of the Civil War.