It made two main rulings. The first ruling was that African Americans were not citizens, and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court. The second ruling was that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in any territory acquired subsequent to the creation of the United States.
Given the first ruling, most scholars and many contemporary political figures (including the leadership of the then-new Republican Party) considered that the second ruling was not binding precedent, but mere dictum. The rationale of the Supreme Court regarding the jurisdictional ruling implied that people of African descent (both slave and free) were not protected by the Constitution and were not U.S. citizens.[2] Since passage of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, both rulings are superseded and no longer valid precedent. Nonetheless, the case retains historical significance as it is widely regarded as the worst decision ever made by the Supreme Court.
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