The correct answer is C) A slave was not a citizen but rather the property of an owner.
A slave was not a citizen but rather the property of an owner, describes a result of the Supreme Court's decision in the Dred Scott case.
In the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford of 1857, the Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent were not citizens of the United States. For that reason, they were not able to sue in federal court. The Supreme Court decided that Congress did not have the faculty to prohibit slavery in America. Dred Scott argued that by living in Illinois territory, it should free him because Illinois prohibited slavery.
The Court decision divided the country. The Supreme Court decided that the Fifth Amendment protected the rights of slaveowners.