the Dred Scott Case
/ðə ˌdred ˈskɒt keɪs/
/ðə ˌdred ˈskɑːt keɪs/
(also the Dred Scott decision
/ðə ˌdred ˈskɒt dɪsɪʒn/
/ðə ˌdred ˈskɑːt dɪsɪʒn/
)- a US Supreme Court decision in 1857 that a slave was not a citizen and could not begin a legal case against anyone. Dred Scott was a slave who wanted a court to say he was free because his owner took him to a free state. The Supreme Court also decided that Congress had no power to prevent slavery in new states. The case divided the nation and led indirectly to the Civil War.
Dred Scott案：1857年美国最高法院的一项裁定，奴隶不是公民，无法对任何人提起法律诉讼。德雷德·斯科特（Dred Scott）是个奴隶，他希望法院说他有自由，因为他的主人将他带到了自由州。最高法院还裁定，国会无权阻止新州的奴隶制。此案使国家分裂，间接导致内战。