Dred Scott

Dred Scott (1799 – September 17, 1858), was a slave in the United States who sued unsuccessfully for his freedom in the famous Dred Scott v. Sandford case of 1856. Year 1799 ( MDCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 1176 - The Battle of Myriokephalon is fought 1462 - The Battle of Świecino (or Battle of Żarnowiec Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Political freedom is the absence of interference with the sovereignty of an individual by the use of coercion or aggression Dred Scott v Sandford —whether or not they were slaves—could never be Citizens of the United States, and that the United States Congress His case was based on the fact that he and his wife Harriet were slaves, but had lived in states and territories where slavery was illegal, including Illinois and Wisconsin, which was then part of the Illinois Territory. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. Wisconsin ( or wɪˈskɑnsɨn (French Ouisconsin) is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States Illinois Territory was a historic Organized territory of the United States established on March 1, 1809. The court ruled seven to two against Scott, finding that neither he, nor any person of African ancestry, could claim citizenship in the United States, and that therefore Scott could not bring suit in federal court under diversity of citizenship rules. Moreover, Scott's temporary residence outside Missouri did not affect his emancipation under the Missouri Compromise, since reaching that result would deprive Scott's owner of his property. Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee The Missouri Compromise was an agreement passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress, involving

Overview

The case raised the issue of a black slave who lived in a free state. Congress had not asserted whether slaves were free once they stepped foot on Northern soil. The ruling arguably violated the Missouri Compromise because, based on the court's logic, a white slave owner could purchase slaves in a slave state and then bring his slaves to a state where slavery was illegal without losing rights to the slaves. The Missouri Compromise was an agreement passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress, involving This factor upset the Northern Republicans and further split Northern and Southern relations.

Scott traveled with his master Dr. John Emerson, who was in the army and often transferred. Scott's extended stay with his master in Illinois, a free state, gave him the legal standing to make a claim for freedom, as did his extended stay at Fort Snelling in the Wisconsin Territory, where slavery was also prohibited. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. Fort Snelling, originally known as Fort St Anthony, is a former Military Fortification located at the confluence of the Minnesota Wisconsin Territory became an Organized territory of the United States by an act of U But Scott never made the claim while living in the free lands—perhaps because he was unaware of his rights at the time, or fearful of possible repercussions. After two years, the army transferred Emerson to the South: first to St. Louis, Missouri, then to Louisiana. The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America In just over a year, the recently married Emerson summoned his slave couple. Instead of staying in the free territory of Wisconsin, or going to the free state of Illinois, the two traveled nearly 2000 km, apparently unaccompanied, down the Mississippi River to meet their master. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to Only after Emerson's death in 1843, when Emerson's widow hired out Scott to an army captain, did Scott seek freedom for himself and his wife. First he offered to buy his freedom from Emerson's widow, Irene Emerson — then living in St. Louis — for $300. The offer was refused, leaving Scott to seek freedom through the courts.

Life

Dred Scott was born in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1799 as property of the Peter Blow family. Southampton County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. It appears that Scott was originally named Sam and had an older brother named Dred. However, when the brother died as a young man, Scott chose to use his name. The Blow family settled near Huntsville, Alabama, where the Peter Blow family unsuccessfully tried farming. Huntsville is a city in Madison and Limestone Counties in the U In 1830 Scott and the Blow family relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, where, the Blow family sold Scott to John Emerson, a doctor serving in the United States Army. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. Dr. Emerson traveled extensively in Illinois and the Wisconsin Territories, where the Northwest Ordinance prohibited slavery. The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States North-West of the River Ohio, and also known as the Freedom As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another Emerson met and married Irene Sandford. ^[1] The couple returned to Missouri in 1842. John Emerson died in 1843. John F. A. Sandford, brother of the widow Irene Sandford Emerson, became executor of the Emerson estate.

Scott filed suit to obtain his freedom in 1846 and went to trial in 1847 in a state courthouse in St. The Old Courthouse (officially called the Old St Louis County Courthouse) was a combination federal and state Courthouse in St Louis. Scott lost the first trial, but the presiding judge granted a second trial because hearsay evidence had been introduced. Three years later, in 1850, a jury decided that Scott and his wife should be freed. The widow, Irene Sanford Emerson, appealed. In Law, an appeal is a process for requesting a formal change to an official decision In 1852, the Missouri Supreme Court struck down the lower court ruling, saying, "Times now are not as they were when the previous decisions on this subject were made. " The Scotts were again returned to their masters.

With the aid of new lawyers (including Montgomery Blair), the Scotts sued again in federal court. Montgomery Blair ( May 10, 1813 &ndash July 27, 1883) the son of Francis Preston Blair, elder brother of Francis Preston They lost and appealed to the United States Supreme Court in Dred Scott v. Sandford. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. Dred Scott v Sandford —whether or not they were slaves—could never be Citizens of the United States, and that the United States Congress In 1857, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivered the majority opinion, that:

• Any person descended from black Africans, whether slave or free, is not a citizen of the United States, according to the Declaration of Independence. Roger Brooke Taney ( "tawny" March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the twelfth United States Attorney General This article is about declarations of independence in general
• The Ordinance of 1787 could not confer freedom or citizenship within the Northwest Territory to black people.
• The provisions of the Act of 1820, known as the Missouri Compromise, were voided as a legislative act because the act exceeded the powers of Congress, insofar as it attempted to exclude slavery and impart freedom and citizenship to Black people in the northern part of the Louisiana cession. ^[2]

In effect, the Court ruled that slaves had no claim to freedom; they were property and not citizens; they could not bring suit in federal court; and because slaves were private property, the federal government could not revoke a white slave owner's right to own a slave based on where he lived, thus nullifying the essence of the Missouri Compromise. Taney, speaking for the majority, also ruled that since Scott was an object of private property, he was subject to the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution which prohibits taking property from its owner "without due process". The Fifth Amendment ( Amendment V) of the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, is related to legal procedure

Gravesite

After the ruling, with Sanford in an insane asylum, Scott was returned as property to Irene Emerson. However, in 1850, Emerson had remarried to an abolitionist, Calvin C. Chaffee, who shortly thereafter was elected to Congress. For the game see 1850 (board game. 1850 ( MDCCCL) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link Abolitionism was a political movement of the 18th and 19th century which sought to make Slavery illegal particularly in the United States and British West Indies Calvin Clifford Chaffee ( August 28 1811 &ndash August 8 1896) was an American doctor and politician In a bizarre turn of events, Chaffee was apparently unaware that his wife owned arguably the most prominent slave in America until a month before the Supreme Court decision. Too late to intervene, the severely criticized Chaffee proceeded to have Emerson return Scott to his original owners, the Blow family, who, as Missouri residents, could emancipate him. Scott was formally freed on May 26, 1857 and worked as a porter in St. Events 451 - The Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire takes place Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Louis for less than nine months before he died from tuberculosis in September 1858. Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or T u' b' erculosis Bacillus --> is a common He was survived by his wife and his daughter Eliza Scott (born 1838).

Dred Scott is interred in Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri. Bellefontaine Cemetery (established in 1849 and the Roman Catholic Calvary Cemetery (established in 1857 in St Harriet Scott was long thought to be buried near her husband, but it was recently proven that she was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Hillsdale, Missouri. Hillsdale is a village in St Louis County, Missouri, United States. She outlived her husband by 18 years, dying on June 17, 1876.

In 1997, Dred and Harriet Scott were inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. The St Louis Walk of Fame honors well-known people from St Louis Missouri who made contributions to Culture of the United States.

References

External links

• Dred Scott Case Collection: Official Court Documents and Supplementary Information Compiled by Washington University in St. Louis
• Biography of Dred Scott by Christyn Elley, Missouri State Archives
• Full text of the Dred Scott v. Sandford Supreme Court decision from Findlaw
• Civil War Times magazine article
• Dred Scott v. Sandford and related resources at the Library of Congress
• Mr. Lincoln and Freedom: Dred Scott
• Two Men Before The Storm: Arba Crane's Recollection of Dred Scott And the Supreme Court Case That Started the Civil War (ISBN 1-929774-36-2)
• Account of ruling by U.S. Supreme Court in Dred Scott v. Sandford as it appeared in The New York Times March 6, 1857
• Dred Scott Chronology from Washington University in St. Louis
• St. Louis Walk of Fame
• The Search for Harriet Scott's resting place
• Harriet Scott's grave located
• Commemorative Events at Jefferson National Expansion Memorial for the 150th Anniversary of the Dred Scott Decision