So far we have covered two major events in the time leading up to the Civil War.  First, we talked about the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and then we went over the Lecompton Constitution.  Well, now we need to discuss the Dred Scott Case.  We’ll talk about it by letting you know who Dred Scott was.  Once more, this is a situation that came down to either allowing the expansion of slavery or not allowing it.  Goodness.

Dred Scott was a slave who sued for his freedom.  He based his case on the fact that he and his owner, John Emerson, moved in and out of territories where slavery was not allowed.  Emerson was in the Army and he was transferred to Illinois, free state, and the Wisconsin territory, free territory.  Dred Scott never made a claim for his freedom while in Illinois and Wisconsin.  After Emerson died, Scott attempted to buy his freedom from Emerson’s widow.  She did not accept his offer.  It is then that Scott sued for his freedom.

Scott first went to trial in June 1847, where he lost.  The case was retried and retried again, resulting in Scott losing the decision.  He finally appealed to the United States Supreme Court.  The United State Supreme Court decided, in a 7-2 decision, that Scott was not free.  This decision said many things, all of them controversial.  It stated that any African American was not a U.S. citizen.  It also destroyed the Missouri Compromise and stated that any slave owner could move into the territories and bring slavery to that territory.  According to the U.S. Supreme Court, slaves were considered property.  Congress had no right to infringe on someone’s property.  Goodness, people once again saw this as an attempt to expand slavery throughout the country.

The Dred Scott decision was a major topic in the debates.  Dred Scott was finally granted his freedom but died not long after.  He died in September of 1858.

Dred Scott is pictured below.