Dred Scott’s decision was key in sparking the Civil War and letting Blacks know they were citizens
There has been much talk about birthright citizenship which applies to those who immigrated to this country without becoming citizens.
But Birthright citizenship began with Black people who were enslaved and were not considered citizens until the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was passed.
Dred Scott v. Sandford 1857, was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that held the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of Black African descent. Therefore, they could not enjoy the rights and privileges the Constitution conferred upon American citizens.
Twenty years later in 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson legalized racial segregation.
Dred Scott’s decision sparked the American Civil War four years later and ended slavery.
Some 180,000 Black men served as soldiers in the Union Army during the American Civil War, representing approximately 10% of the total Union fighting force; an additional 20,000 served in the Union Navy.
President Donald Trump disagrees with President Abraham Lincoln, the great emancipator. Trump suggested the Civil War could have been avoided through “negotiation,” arguing that the fight to end slavery in the U.S. was ultimately unnecessary and that President Abraham Lincoln should have done more to avoid bloodshed.
The Civil War resulted in the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery. The 14th Amendment said that any person born in the U.S. is a citizen and the 15th Amendment gives U.S. citizens the right to vote.
On July 28, 1868, the 14th amendment was declared, in a certificate of the Secretary of State, ratified by the necessary 28 of the 37 States, and became part of the supreme law of the land.
The 14th Amendment, however, failed to protect the rights of Black citizens from “Jim Crow” laws that were rampant throughout the South and North.
The 14th Amendment, however, also failed to protect the rights of Black citizens because of “Jim Crow” laws that relegated Blacks to permanent second-class citizens until Congress passed new laws protecting Blacks.