Dred Scott decided

On March 6, 1857, the US Supreme Court announced its landmark decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford, holding that black people—slaves as well as free—were not and could never become citizens of the United States and that the 1820 Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.

Learn more about the Dred Scott case from Washington University in St. Louis (the city where Dred Scott initially filed his suit for freedom and had his case first tried). Review a selection of contemporary newspaper editorials reacting to the decision.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Massachusetts instituted death penalty for heresy

On November 4, 1646, the Massachusetts General Court approved a law requiring all members of the colony to recognize the Bible as the Word of God, under penalty of death.  

Israel PM Yitzhak Rabin assassinated

On November 4, 1995, Yigal Amir shot and killed Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in response to the Oslo Accords peace agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organization. Amir was tried and given a life sentence for the murder. Learn more about the trial of Yigal Amir from the New York Times.