March marked the 150^th anniversary of the infamous Dred Scott case, an event that contributed to the outbreak of America's Civil War.

On March 6, 1857, Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney held that African-Americans had no right to sue in the federal courts.

Born in Southampton County, Virginia, the enslaved Dred Scott was taken to St. Louis, Missouri by his masters, the Peter Blow family. He was then sold to Dr. John Emerson, who took Scott to Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory, a free territory under the Missouri Compromise.  Scott married Harriet Robinson, who was also enslaved by Emerson.

Scott and his wife returned to Missouri, which was then a slave state, where they were transferred to other masters. It was in Missouri that Scott sued for their freedom on the pretext that he and his wife had stayed in Wisconsin, a territory where slavery was banned by federal law.

When the Missouri courts discarded Scott's case, attorney Roswell Field brought Scott’s case up to the federal court.

Here, Judge Taney stated that the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which prohibited slavery, was unconstitutional. He said that African-Americans, free or slave, were not U.S. citizens and contended that slaves were mere commodities who could not sue.

A landmark judgment, the case played a part in redirecting American history.

Dred Scott’s case sparked the Civil War. It probably even facilitated slavery’s abolition.

In 1868, blacks gained equal rights under the 14^th Amendment.

On April 7, 2007, Harvard Law School held a mock re-hearing of the Dred Scott v. Sandford case. Presided by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, the case was presented before a 10-member court, including a number of U.S. Court of Appeals judges.

Breyer said that the case raised practical questions for judges involved in complex moral cases. Attorney John Payton commented that it was both a “history lesson and a cautionary tale.”

Kenneth Starr, a former prosecutor, called the decision “racist and morally bankrupt.” He said that Judge Taney’s verdict reflected arrogance on the part of the Supreme Court and that the Dred Scott case should serve as a lesson for judges.

Several institutions and organizations in St. Louis marked the case’s 150^th anniversary by raising awareness amongst students through museum exhibits, academic gatherings, and theater performances.

Still, it is important to note that, even after 150 years, the effects of slavery still linger in today’s African-American community. They still have a high unemployment rate, high infant mortality rate, and shorter life expectancies. African-Americans are apparently more prone to diseases, and their health services are below the national average.