Early in our history, the United States had states that supported slavery and states that were against slavery. The United States government tried to keep the number of states supporting slavery equal to the number of states against slavery. In 1819, Missouri wanted to become a state and come into the Union as a state supporting slavery. This would make the number states supporting slavery more than those against slavery. So on March 6, 1820, President Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise, saying that Missouri could become a state and support slavery, while Maine would come into the Union as a state that was against slavery.
On March 6, 1857, 37 years later, the Dred Scott case was decided by the Supreme Court. The Southern majority of the Supreme Court said that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. They also said that Dred Scott did not have the right to ask for his freedom, even though he lived in a state that was against slavery. This ruling led to great division and then the Civil War in 1861. The Civil War began the ending of slavery in every state!
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