Preview

Dred Scott Case

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
466 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Dred Scott Case
Gun wielding men fighting and shooting each other. Brother have turned on brothers. This is the american civil war. You may be wondering what lead to the first civil war in american history. One man's case drew the line in the sand for war. This man was a slave who just wanted freedom. This case changed how the united states supreme court looked at cases and each other. This man's name was Dred Scott. Dred Scott was born around 1800. This man's employer was Peter blow. Blow and Scott moved along until blow finally died but Dred was not free yet. He was sold to Dr. John Emerson. Emerson and scott moved to the free state of illinois in 1836. After staying in a state where a black man should be free for two and a half years they moved to wisconsin. …show more content…
Emerson’s wife retained scott as her now property. Scott offered to buy his freedom from Mrs Emerson for three-hundred dollars which was blatantly refused, Scott was given no other choice then to get freedom from the courts which he had been taught to obey. In the june of 1847 Dred Scott went to court to get his freedom. His case failed because he couldn’t prove Mrs Emerson owned him. If Emerson’s Widow did not own him then now person owned Dred Scott. If no person owned Dred Scott the by definition Scott should have been declared a free man, The following year the Missouri Supreme Court stepped in to this situation. They decided it should be retried. The St Louis Circuit Court ruled that Scott and his family were free. After having freedom the Missouri Supreme Court reversed the decision of the previous court. Scot had too now take this to federal court to continue to fight for freedom which had been given then revoked. The North saw this as taking away a person's human rights. The south viewed this as a giant win for a twisted ideology. The circuit court upheld the Missouri supreme court's decision. Now the final frontier was

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the case of Dred Scott, he told the court that Sanford and himself were citizens of two different states. However, the court makes it quite clear that Dred Scott is not a citizen of Missouri; and because he is not a citizen he does not have the right to sue in a federal court. Throughout the case the court gives several reasons why Dred Scott is not considered a citizen of Missouri. They use excerpts from the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to prove that because Dred Scott is of the African race he can never become a citizen, free or not. After the court officially decided that Dred Scott is not a citizen and does not have the right to sue; because of this, the court does not have the jurisdiction to make a decision on…

    • 141 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Facts: This lawsuit involves Dred Scott, an African American slave and his owner due to the passing of his previous owner Dr. Emerson, John F. A. Sanford. John F.A Sanford is the brother to the wife of Dr. Emerson. Dred Scott sued for his freedom in the Missouri Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis on April 6, 1846 . Dred Scott’s legal suit is for assault and false imprisonment: “A slave could be punished and kept as property, but a free person could not.”…

    • 1622 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the Dred Scott case came before the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney was one of the five justices from states where slavery was legal. These five justices were the majority on the court, and believed that although the Missouri Compromise existed, a slave owner had the right to take his slaves anywhere he wished without fear that someone would remove his property from him. It was their feeling that regardless of the fact that Dred had lived in so called “free states,” he was still his owner’s property.…

    • 213 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It started when the court decided that all blacks could never become citizens of the United States. The people in the case was Dred Scott a slave who lived in Illinois and the free territory of Wisconsin before moving to Missouri the slave state…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since Dr. Emerson was a surgeon for the United States army, it required him to move around frequently in which he took his slaves along with him. At the time there was a law under the Missouri Compromise of 1820 that “once free, always free” which meant “if a slave, whether white or black, had ever become free for any reason, such as living for a time in a free territory, he was essentially emancipated"(Kohlenberger 1). To be emancipated means to be free from any legal restriction. Then there is the question: Why was Dred Scott not granted his freedom immediately? He was most likely not aware of this law at the time which takes us back to Learning to Read by Frederick Douglass and how “education and slavery were incompatible with each other” (Douglass 347). Slaves have all the right to know about laws that provide a chance to freedom for them however they are unfortunately not given the opportunity to receive that sort of education and awareness. April 6, 1846 Dred and Harriet Scott filed a petition for their freedom, separately since slave marriages were not recognized at the…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dred Scott was a African American slave born in Virginia in the year 1800. In the 1830s Scott and Harriet Robinson lived in Fort Snelling in the 1830s working as free people as slavery was outlawed in the area. He lived there with an army surgeon named Emerson and was paid an independent salary. When Emerson was reassigned to the south they Scotts moved to fort Jesup in Louisiana. But soon returned to Fort snelling. In 1846 the Scotts decided to sue for their freedom because they were denied the optioned to buy it by Emerson's widow. In 1853 they filed in federal court. After Dred was freed in St. Louis circuit court in 1857, the supreme court made a decision based on the Dred Scott case stating that African Americans were not citizens and…

    • 193 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Peter Blow -Dr. Emerson dies while they are in free state - Mrs. Emerson now owns Scott - Mrs.Emerson gets married and gives Scott to Mr. Sandford(brother)-since he was in another state they could take it to federal court-Chief Justice Taney ruled that he was not free-filed using…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Dred Scott Supreme Court decision is an embarrassment in American history. Before the the case was brought to the court Dred Scott,an enslaved African American, tried to buy his freedom for $300 but the offer was declined. He finally went to the court to see if his freedom could be granted through the legal system. However he lost on a technicality because he could not provide sufficient proof that he was owned by Emerson’s widow. In 1850 there was a retrial in the Missouri supreme court, which granted them freedom. However two years later the Supreme court stepped in and reversed that ruling. He finally appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which ruled that because he was black he was not a citizen, in effect he restricted, or…

    • 168 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Benjamin Bradley Essay

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Benjamin Bradley was born a slave in Maryland, around 1830, but became an engineer and inventor.…

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The process began in 1846: Scott lost in his initial suit in a local St. Louis district court, but he won in a second trial, only to have that decision overturned by the Missouri State Supreme Court. With support from local abolitionists, Scott filed another suit in federal court in 1854, against John Sanford, the widow Emerson's brother and executor of his estate. When that case was decided in favor of Sanford, that Scott turned to the U.S. Supreme Court.…

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In 1857, Dred Scott lost his case proving that he should be free because he had been held as a slave while living in a free state. The Court ruled that his petition couldn’t be seen because he did not own property. But it went further, to state that even though he had been taken by his 'owner' into a free state, he was still a slave because slaves were to be considered property of their owners. This decision furthered the cause of abolitionists as they increased their efforts to fight against slavery.…

    • 537 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In 1857, a slave named Dred Scott went to the north with his owner. While the two men got to the north the Scott’s owner died. From this Scott looked at himself as a free man. He even sued for freedom. He argued that if is owner died in a free territory that would make him a free man. Scott went to the Supreme Court to defend his freedom. The court ruled seven to two that Dred Scott was not a free man and he had to return to slavery. Scott grew with anger and still believed he should be free. The court’s decision was final and Scott was later forced back into slavery. During the Dred Scott case Chief Justice ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and he decided to abolish it.…

    • 134 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Civil War Origins and Legacy

    • 2553 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Perhaps the greatest war in American History, the Civil War is unique because of the fact that it was the only war fought on American soil. The American Civil War’s origins were brought forth by complex issues dealing with slavery, expansionism, sectionalism, and political party politics. However the Civil War was mainly devised because of slavery issues and later intensified by tariff issues as well. During this time the United States was forced to confront the issue of whether new areas of settlement were going to be pro-slave states or no slave holding states. After the war slavery was still an ongoing issue in society until it was diminished by Abraham Lincoln. However racial discrimination continued amongst many southerners after blacks were given the right to vote. This summary of the origins and legacy of the Civil War will give more insight of the events that led to the end of slavery and the reconstruction of a new nation.…

    • 2553 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Slavery was at the root of the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford. Dred Scott sued his master to obtain freedom for himself and his family. His argument was that he had lived in a territory where slavery was illegal; therefore he should be considered a free man. Dred Scott was born a slave in Virginia around 1800. Scott and his family were slaves owned by Peter Blow and his family. He moved to St. Louis with them in 1830 and was sold to John Emerson, a military doctor. They went to Illinois and the Wisconsin territory where the Missouri Compromise of 1820 prohibited slavery. Dred Scott married and had two daughters. John Emerson married Irene Sanford. In 1842, they all returned to St. Louis, Missouri. John Emerson died the next year. In 1846, Scotts sued Irene Emerson for their freedom. The Scott’s stay in free territories gave them the ability to sue for their freedom. However, they did not do this while they were living there (Dred Scott’s Fight).…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil War Essay

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Civil War was the most divisive war in American history. In the early 1800s, the United States experienced a growth of nationalism and unity, but it was replaced by sectionalism, leading to the Civil War. There were many reasons why the South wanted to secede, reasons the North wanted to maintain the Union, and the controversy surrounding slavery and steps taken to abolish it.…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays