c) Congress can’t ban slavery

The 1857 Dred Scott ruling, a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, stated that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories. This ruling, delivered by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, declared that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be American citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court. The decision heightened tensions between the North and South over the issue of slavery, contributing to the mounting divisions that led to the American Civil War.