Question

What said that Congress did not
have the power to ban slavery in the
territories?

Answer 1

The assertion that Congress did not have the power to ban slavery in the territories was articulated in the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, delivered by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857. The Court concluded that the federal government did not have the authority to regulate slavery in the territories, effectively stating that enslaved people were property and that Congress could not deprive property owners of their property without due process. This ruling intensified the national debate over slavery and contributed to the tensions that eventually led to the Civil War.