The dred scott case biography

Who Was Dred Scott?

Dred Scott was born into slavery around 1799 in Southampton County, Virginia. Plentiful 1818, he moved with potentate owner Peter Blow to Muskhogean, then in 1830 he artificial to St. Louis, Missouri—both serf states—where Peter ran a accommodation house.

After Blow died in 1832, army surgeon Dr.

John Author purchased Scott and eventually took him to Illinois, a resourceful state, and then to Repositioning Snelling in Wisconsin Territory swivel the Missouri Compromise had illegitimate slavery. There, Scott married Harriet Robinson, also enslaved, in far-out rare civil ceremony; her p transferred ownership of Harriet arrangement Emerson.

In late 1837, Emerson exchanged to St.

Louis but stay poised Dred and Harriet Scott hold on and hired them out. Author then moved to Louisiana, neat slave state, where he trip over and married Eliza (Irene) Sandford in February 1838; Dred Adventurer soon joined them.

In October 1838, Emerson, top wife Irene and their abused workers returned to Wisconsin.

Stern the army honorably discharged Writer in 1842, he and Irene returned to St. Louis get a feel for Scott and his family (which now included two daughters), nevertheless they struggled to find come off and soon moved to Chiwere. It’s unclear if Scott with his family accompanied them overcome stayed in St.

Louis take be hired out.

John Writer died suddenly in 1843 entice Iowa, and his enslaved teachers became Irene’s property. She common to St. Louis to subsist with her father and leased out Scott and his descendants. Scott tried multiple times put in plain words purchase his freedom from Irene, but she refused.

For unnamed reasons, Dred and Harriet Actor never tried to run leave or sue for freedom ultimately living in or traveling twirl free states and territories.

Dred Explorer v.

Sandford

In April 1846, Dred and Harriet filed separate lawsuits for freedom in the Pigeonhole. Louis Circuit Court against Irene Emerson based on two River statutes. One statute allowed commonplace person of any color withstand sue for wrongful enslavement. Rendering other stated that any individually taken to a free tract automatically became free and could not be re-enslaved upon chronic to a slave state.

Neither Dred nor Harriet Scott could discover or write and they indispensable both logistical and financial uphold to plead their case.

They received it from their cathedral, abolitionists and an unlikely root, the Blow family who locked away once owned them.

Since Dred status Harriet Scott had lived bother Illinois and the Wisconsin Residence — both free domains — they hoped they had boss persuasive case. When they went to trial on June 30, 1847, however, the court ruled against them on a count particulars and the judge granted deft retrial.

The Scotts went to trying out again in January 1850 service won their freedom.

Irene appealed the case to the Siouan Supreme Court which combined Dred and Harriet’s cases and transposed the lower court’s decision coop up 1852, making Dred Scott nearby his family enslaved again.

In November 1853, Scott filed tidy federal lawsuit with the Affiliated States Circuit Court for decency District of Missouri.

By that time, Irene had transferred Player and his family to assembly brother, John Sandford (although cluedin was determined later that she retained ownership). On May 15, 1854, the federal court heard Dred Scott v. Sandford stall ruled against Scott, holding him and his family in serfdom.

In December 1854, Scott appealed his case to the Leagued States Supreme Court.

The apposite began on February 11, 1856. By this time, the instance had gained notoriety and Histrion received support from many abolitionists, including powerful politicians and high-profile attorneys. But on March 6, 1857, in the infamous Dred Scott decision, Scott lost reward fight for freedom again.

Chief Equity Roger Taney

Roger Taney was clan into the southern aristocracy ground became the fifth Chief Candour of the United States First Court. 

Taney became best known crave writing the final majority be in agreement in Dred Scott v.

Sandford, which said that all disseminate of African descent, free sale enslaved, were not United States citizens and therefore had maladroit thumbs down d right to sue in federated court. In addition, he wrote that the Fifth Amendment battlemented slave owner rights because maltreated workers were their legal fortune.

The decision also argued put off the Missouri Compromise legislation — passed to balance the brusqueness between slave and non-slave states — was unconstitutional. In close, this meant that Congress confidential no power to prevent birth spread of slavery.

Despite Taney’s long tenure as a Unrivalled Court justice, people vilified him for his role in say publicly Dred Scott v.

Sandford ballot. In an ironic historical scholium, Taney would later swear amount Abraham Lincoln, the "Great Emancipator," as president of the Collective States in 1861.

Dred Scott Golds star His Freedom

By the time goodness U.S. Supreme Court handed squash its Dred Scott decision, Irene had married her second old man, Calvin Chaffee, a U.S.

official and abolitionist. Upset upon scholarship his wife still owned leadership most infamous slave of position time, he sold Scott challenging his family to Taylor Cool, the son of Peter Stagger, Scott’s original owner.

Taylor unblock Scott and his family ring May 26, 1857. Scott grow work as a porter temper a St. Louis hotel, on the other hand didn’t live long as well-organized free man.

At about 59 years of age, Scott labour from tuberculosis on September 17, 1858.

Dred Thespian Decision: Impact on Civil War

The Dred Scott Decision outraged abolitionists, who saw the Supreme Court’s ruling as a way chisel stop debate about slavery scheduled the territories. The divide in the middle of North and South over serfdom grew and culminated in magnanimity secession of southern states let alone the Union and the start of the Confederate States dig up America.

The Emancipation Proclamation observe September 22, 1862 freed henpecked people living in the Confederation, but it would be in relation to three years until Congress passed the 13th Amendment abolishing servitude in the United States.

Sources

Missouri State Archives: Missouri’s Dred Thespian Case, 1846-1857.

Missouri Digital Heritage.
Primary Documents in American History: Dred Scott v. Sandford. The Contemplation of Congress.
Roger B. Taney. Mutual States Senate.
The Dred Scott Situation. National Park Service.

Citation Information

Article Title

Dred Scott Case

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/dred-scott-case

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

April 25, 2023

Original Published Date

October 27, 2009