Trump v. Barbara · ¶437

No case concerning the meaning of the term “citizen” in any constitutional provision reached the Supreme Court until Dred Scott v. Sandford, 19 How. 393 (1857). Before then, the British rule did figure in a handful of antebellum Supreme Court decisions, but none of these addressed any constitutional question, and most appear to have regarded the British rule as part of state law on eligibility to inherit property. See Inglis v. Trustees of Sailor’s Snug Harbour in City of New York, 3 Pet. 99, 120–127 (1830); Shanks v. Dupont, 3 Pet. 242, 245–250 (1830); Lessee of Levy v. McCartee, 6 Pet. 102, 109 (1832).

slip opinion, revised 7/01/26
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