Which case declared that enslaved individuals were not citizens and had no rights under the Constitution?

Which case declared that enslaved individuals were not citizens and had no rights under the Constitution?

• A. Buckley v. Valeo
• B. Wong Sun v. United States
• C. Dred Scott v. Sandford
• D. Mapp v. Ohio

Answer: (C)

The statement is testing knowledge of the case that held enslaved people could not be citizens and had no rights under the Constitution. That case is Dred Scott v. Sandford. In 1857, the Supreme Court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, were not citizens of the United States and therefore could not enjoy the rights and protections guaranteed by the Constitution. The Court described enslaved people as property and said the Constitution did not extend its protections to them; Congress could not bar slavery in the territories, and the federal government had no authority to grant them citizenship. This decision stood as a brutal justification for denying basic rights until it was effectively overturned by the Fourteenth Amendment, which defines national and state citizenship and guarantees equal protection of the laws to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. The other cases focus on unrelated issues—campaign finance limits, the exclusionary rule for evidence, and its application to the states—so they do not address citizenship status or rights of enslaved people under the Constitution.

The statement is testing knowledge of the case that held enslaved people could not be citizens and had no rights under the Constitution. That case is Dred Scott v. Sandford. In 1857, the Supreme Court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, were not citizens of the United States and therefore could not enjoy the rights and protections guaranteed by the Constitution. The Court described enslaved people as property and said the Constitution did not extend its protections to them; Congress could not bar slavery in the territories, and the federal government had no authority to grant them citizenship.

This decision stood as a brutal justification for denying basic rights until it was effectively overturned by the Fourteenth Amendment, which defines national and state citizenship and guarantees equal protection of the laws to all persons born or naturalized in the United States.

The other cases focus on unrelated issues—campaign finance limits, the exclusionary rule for evidence, and its application to the states—so they do not address citizenship status or rights of enslaved people under the Constitution.