Dred Scott v. Sanford addressed which issue?

• A. Ruled that Congress did not have the power to prohibit slavery in federal territories, and slaves were treated as property, not citizens.
• B. Granted citizenship to enslaved people.
• C. Prohibited slavery in all territories.
• D. Established the right to petition the government for relief.

Answer: (A)

Dred Scott v. Sanford focused on two linked questions: who could be a citizen with standing in federal courts, and who had the power to regulate slavery in new territories. The Court held that African Americans, enslaved or free, could not be citizens and therefore had no rights to sue in federal court. It also ruled that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the federal territories, effectively allowing slavery to expand into those areas by treating enslaved people as property that Congress could not regulate.

That combination—denying citizenship to Black people and barring Congress from restricting slavery in territories—matches the idea that enslaved people were property and that Congress lacked power to prohibit slavery in federal territories. It’s not about granting citizenship, prohibiting slavery everywhere, or rights to petition the government, which is why the other options don’t fit.