On March 6, 1857, the Court delivered a 7-2 decision against Dred Scott. The majority held that Dread Scott was indeed a slave and not a citizen of the U.S., therefore, he could not file suit. The Court reasoned that any individual of African descent whether he or she is enslaved or a freeperson they are not American citizens under the US Constitution. Therefore, when the Constitution was written the intent of the framers was to exclude slaves as citizens. Thus, because the Constitution did not allow slaves to obtain citizenship, the Court found Dred Scott to be a slave and not a citizen, to take part in the judicial process, such as Dred Scott, an individual must have the diversity of citizenship. Because he was not a legal citizen of any
