Scott, Dred (1795-1858), was an enslaved African American man who sued unsuccessfully for his freedom. His case, called Dred Scott v. Sanford, became one of the most important legal battles in United States history. The case was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1857. It declared that no person of African descent—free or enslaved—could claim United States citizenship. It also stated that Congress could not prohibit slavery in United States territories. The Dred Scott Decision sparked anger in the North and helped bring about the American Civil War (1861-1865). See Dred Scott Decision.
Scott was born into slavery in 1795 in Southampton County, Virginia. He was the property of the Peter Blow family. Scott worked as a farmhand, craftsman, handyman, and stevedore (a person who loads and unloads ships). He never learned to read or write. In 1819, Scott moved with Blow to Huntsville, Alabama, and in 1830, to St. Louis.
In 1832, Blow died, and Scott was sold to John Emerson, a U.S. Army surgeon stationed in Missouri, a state that permitted slavery. Scott worked as a valet (personal servant) to Emerson. In 1834, Scott went with Emerson to live in Illinois, which prohibited slavery. They later lived in the Wisconsin Territory, where slavery was also forbidden. There, Scott met Harriet Robinson, an enslaved woman from Virginia. They married in 1836 or 1837, and ownership of Harriet was transferred to Emerson. In 1838, the Scotts returned to Missouri with Emerson. The couple later had two daughters.
Emerson died in Missouri in 1843. Emerson’s widow, Irene, hired Scott out to an Army captain. Scott offered to buy his freedom from Irene, but she refused the offer. In 1846, with the help of a local lawyer, Dred and Harriet sued Irene for their freedom and that of their daughters. Scott claimed that he had become a free man by living in places where slavery was not recognized.
Scott v. Emerson went to trial in 1847. Scott lost on a technicality, and the judge called for a retrial. A state circuit court ruled in Scott’s favor, but the Supreme Court of Missouri later reversed the decision. Meanwhile, Irene’s brother, John F. A. Sanford, of New York, became Scott’s owner. Because Sanford did not live in Missouri, Scott’s lawyers were able to transfer the case to a federal court. This court ruled against Scott. His lawyers then took the case to the Supreme Court. The court ruled that Scott could not bring a suit in a federal court because African Americans were not U.S. citizens.
Peter Blow’s sons, childhood friends of Scott, had helped pay Scott’s legal fees through the years. After the Supreme Court’s decision, Blow’s sons purchased the Scotts and set them free. Scott died on Sept. 17, 1858.
See also Dred Scott Decision; Missouri Compromise.
