By Alexander M. Barker

Born as a slave in the late 1700s Owned by the Blow family Parents are unknown Lived in Southampton County, VA Moved to Alabama; then Missouri, along with Blow family page/3/

Robert Blow, Dred’s owner, died in the 1830s Dred was bought by Dr. John Emerson Emerson was an army doctor He took Dred to Illinois, Wisconsin, Louisiana, and Missouri He also took Dred to Fort Armstrong and Fort Snelling

While at Fort Snelling, Dred met and fell in love with Harriet Robinson She was a slave owned by another army doctor They were soon wed Ownership of Harriet was transferred over to Dr. Emerson They later had two daughters, Eliza and Lizzie scotth/index.html

Dr. Emerson died in 1843 In 1846, Dred attempted to buy the freedom of he and his family from the doctor’s widow She refused his offers He took his case to the Circuit Court

During he and his family’s time with Dr. Emerson, he had taken them to Illinois and the Wisconsin territory These places both prohibited slavery Dred lived in Missouri at the time that he sued Missouri had a “once free, always free” policy This policy said that any slave that spent time in a free state at any point could sue for their freedom and win security-systems/illinois/

At first, Dred was not able to prove that Dr. Emerson had purchased him He lost the first trial on a technicality because of this

Dred made another attempt at winning his freedom through the Circuit Court Two sons of Dred’s original owner, Peter Blow, testified that Dred had been bought by Dr. Emerson Case was technically over in 1850 In 1852, case was moved to Missouri Supreme Court Dred and his family were technically free until case in pinsker/2012/02/13/dred-and-harriet-scott/

Case began in 1852 Reversed the Circuit Court’s decision, making Dred and his family slaves yet again Dred brought the case before the U.S. Supreme Court He hoped they would reverse the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision

Seven of nine justices had been appointed by pro- slavery presidents of Southern origin Five were from slave-holding families At first, it seemed likely that the Supreme Court would simply throw the case out A previous case had given states the right to treat their citizens as they see fit Dred argued that he and Sandford were from different states Case was accepted

Mrs. Emerson’s attorneys argued that slaves could only be set free with consent of their master Mrs. Emerson’s attorneys also questioned constitutionality of Missouri Compromise Dred continued to use the “only free, always free” policy and use the sons of his original owner as witnesses

Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote the court’s majority opinion The ruling specified that: Dred was not a U.S. citizen Dred had no right to sue in a federal court No black could ever be a U.S. citizen No black could “have rights that the white man were bound to respect” The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and had to done away with merican/scott/scott.asp

Chief Justice Taney claimed that the Missouri Compromise broke the Fifth Amendment by taking away property without due process of law Said that all blacks were property, so they could not be U.S. citizens or have rights

Mrs. Emerson’s new abolitionist husband, Dr. Calvin Chaffee, transferred Dred and his family ownership to Taylor Blow Taylor Blow set Dred and his family free Dred worked as a porter at Barnum’s Hotel, and died a year later, in 1858 Lizzie, Dred’s daughter, got married Harriet lived with Lizzie and her husband until her death in

Contentment in South, because slavery was virtually secure Outrage in North and West Abolitionists were enraged and insulted the Supreme Court Westerners feared the spread of slavery would disrupt their economic system Tension between pro-slavery advocates and abolitionists dramatically increased To this day, the ruling is known as one of the most controversial rulings in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court

Due to the Supreme Court’s ruling, Congress could no longer prevent slavery from spreading or remove it from places it had already been established This put an end to peaceful means of ending slavery The only option was violence South Carolina succeeded in 1860, and the battle at Fort Sumter officially started the war that would end slavery Decision of Dred Scott v. Sandford essentially made the Civil War inevitable Connecticut-Focus--February-26th--March-4th---March- 18th.html?soid= &aid=ATb71FdYCLY

32a. The Dred Scott Decision. n.d. (accessed November 21, 2014). Dred Scott. n.d. (accessed November 21, 2014). Dred Scott's Fight for Freedom n.d. (accessed November 21, 2014). Kermit L. Hall, James W. Ely Jr. "Scott v. Sandford." In The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions, by James W. Ely Jr. Kermit L. Hall. Oxford University Press, Missouri's Dred Scott Case, n.d. (accessed November 21, 2014).