ABSTRACT
Dred Scott v. Sandford is perhaps one of the most famous (and infamous) Supreme Court cases in American judicial history, perhaps surpassed only by Brown v. Board of Education. The takeaway historical significance of the case is that the decision denied slaves the possibility of citizenship under the constitution. However, the case also represents an intriguing backwards-looking window toward a fascinating era of race relations in American history. If there is a sense of ideological consistency apparent in Dred Scott, there is an inconsistency in Plessy v. Ferguson. Representing the height of racial biologism, social Darwinism and the eugenics movement of the late 19th century used scientific measurements of crania, nose, jawbones, ears, and head size to calculate racial differences. In law, early Critical Race Theorists such as Derrick Bell, Patricia Williams, Mari Matsuda Kimberle Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado were frustrated at the incredibly slow pace of racial progress following the Civil Rights Era.
