The significance of the Dred Scott decision in the United States, issued by the Supreme Court in 1857, was profound and contentious. The court ruled that Dred Scott, an enslaved man who sued for his freedom, was not a citizen and thus had no right to sue in federal court. Moreover, the ruling stated that the Missouri Compromise, which restricted slavery in certain territories, was unconstitutional. This decision intensified the sectional conflict between the North and South, inflamed abolitionist sentiments, and contributed to the political tensions leading to the Civil War. It demonstrated the limitations of legal protections for African Americans.