Question 1

What rationale did the US Supreme Court provide for excluding the “class of persons described in the plea in abatement” from citizenship in the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford?

Answer

They were not explicitly included in the word “citizens” in the Constitution.

Their ancestors were not present in the United States at the time the Constitution was drafted.

They had no political representation in the US government.

They were considered a distinct nation separate from the United States.