Dred Scott v. Sandford Precedents:
The Court was very new when it heard Dred Scott v. Sanford.  The case was unique and no precedents addressed the central conflict.  The Court said the central conflict was whether a state's laws could give a slave the freedom of citizenship.  The Constitution in 1857 was not clear who was and was not a citizen of the United States.   To decide, the Court considered the intent of the authors of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.