Dred Scott Decision 1857

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Dred Scott Decision (1857)
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Dred Scott Case Timeline

• 1799 Dred Scott was born in Virginia.
• 1830-1836 His owner moved to Missouri then to
  Wisconsin, where Scott married Harriet.
• 1843-1847 Scotts owner died. Scott tried to buy
  his freedom, but the widow refused the offer.
• 1847 Dred Scott sued for his freedom in
  Missouri.
• St. Louis Circuit Court granted Scott and his
  family their freedom.
• 1852 Missouri Supreme Court reversed the
  decision.
• 1854 Federal Circuit Court upheld the Missouri
  Supreme Court decision. Scott remained a slave
• 1856 The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the
  case.

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The United States Supreme Court ruled that all
people of African ancestryslaves as well as
those who were freecould never become citizens
of the United States and therefore could not sue
in federal court. The court also ruled that the
federal government did not have the power to
prohibit slavery in its territories because it
deprived citizens of their constitutional
protection of their property.
1857
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1857 The Blow brothers, his former master's sons
and childhood friends of Scott, had helped pay
Scott's legal fees through the years. After the
Supreme Court's decision, they purchased Scott
and his wife and set them free. Scott was 58
years old.
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1858 Dred Scott died nine months after gaining
his freedom. He is buried in St. Louis. See
more images of the grave.
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While the decision was well-received by
slaveholders in the South, many northerners were
outraged. The decision greatly influenced the
nomination of Abraham Lincoln to the Republican
Party and his subsequent election, which in turn
led to the South's secession from the
Union. Source PBS on Dred Scott Case
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Sources
Grave http//www.thecemeteryproject.com/images/Fa
mous20Dead20People/Scott,20Dred20-20St20Loui
s20MO202.jpg PBS on Dred Scott
http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2932.html St.
Louis U. on Dred Scott http//library.wustl.edu/
vlib/dredscott/ Quick reference for important
Supreme Court Decisions http//www.cftech.com/Brai
nBank/OTHERREFERENCE/LEGAL/SupremCrtDecis.html