In 1857, the Supreme Court, with 7 of the 9 Justices being Democrat, decided that Dred Scott was not a citizen, but property. Chief Justice Roger Taney, appointed by Democrat President Andrew Jackson, referenced in his decision that slaves were "so far inferior...that the Negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for their own benefit." After the Civil War, Republicans pushed through the 13TH AMENDMENT, adopted December 6, 1865, officially abolishing slavery in America.