e case to the Supreme Court. By a majority of 7 to 2, the Supreme Court ruled that Scott could not bring a suit in a federal court. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, speaking for the majority, declared that Scott could not do so because blacks were not U.S. citizens. The court could have simply dismissed the case after ruling on Scott's citizenship. But there was a growing national desire for a ruling on the constitutionality of such laws as the Missouri Compromise. Therefore, the court discussed this issue as part of its decision in the Dred Scott case. By a smaller majority, the court ruled that the Missouri Compromise, which had been repealed in 1854, was unconstitutional. Justice Taney argued that because slaves were property, Congress could not forbid slavery in the territories without violating a slaveowner's constitutional right to own property. Dred Scott himself was sold shortly afterward. His new owner gave him his freedom two months after the Supreme Court decision. The Dred Scott decision was applauded by Southerners who believed they could now extend slavery to all the territories. In essence, it supported the views held by the South that slaves were property, not citizens who had individual rights. Thus they could be bought and sold in manner no different the other property. They were not protected by the constitutional guarantee to individual freedom. However, in the north the reaction was quite different. The North was very unhappy and pledged to try to stop the spread of slavery. Indeed, Frederick Douglas said that the decision was wrong as it was "an attempt to blot out forever the hopes of all enslaved people". The decision, supported by the South, helped enforce their way of life and their belief that slaves were property. They used slaves as cheap labor to work the fields. Slaves had no rights and were not given the respect of private family life or basic human rights. Politically, the decision further divided the North...
