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dred scott

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Dred Scott was an enslaved African American man in the United States who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom and that of his wife and their two daughters in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case of 1857, popularly known as the "Dred Scott Decision." The case was based on the fact that although he and his wife Harriet Scott were slaves, they had lived with his slave owner, Dr. John Emerson, in states and territories where slavery was illegal according to both state laws and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, including Illinois and Minnesota. The United States Supreme Court decided 7–2 against Scott, finding that neither he nor any other person of African ancestry could claim citizenship in the United States, and therefore Scott could not bring …show more content…

The Blow family settled near Huntsville, Alabama, where they unsuccessfully attempted farming. In 1830 the Blow family took Scott with them when they relocated to St. Louis, Missouri. They sold him to John Emerson, a doctor serving in the United States Army. Marriage and family In 1836 Dred Scott met a teenaged slave named Harriet Robinson whose slave owner was Major Lawrence Taliaferro, an army officer from Virginia. Taliaferro allowed Scott and Harriet to marry and transferred his ownership of Harriet to Dr. Emerson so the couple could be together. In 1838, Harriet gave birth to their first child, Eliza. In 1840, they had another daughter they named Lizzie. Eventually, they would also have two sons, but neither survived past infancy. February 1838 in Louisiana, Dr. Emerson married Eliza Irene Sanford, and the Emerson’s and Scotts returned to Missouri in 1840. In 1842, Emerson left the Army. After he died in the Iowa Territory in 1843, his widow Eliza inherited his estate, including the Scotts. For three years after Emerson 's death, she continued to lease out the Scotts as hired slaves. In 1846, Scott attempted to purchase his and his family 's freedom, but Eliza Irene Emerson refused, prompting Scott to resort to legal recourse. Dred Scott case Having failed to purchase his freedom, in 1846 Scott filed legal suit in St Louis Circuit Court through the help of a local lawyer. Historical details about why Scott sought recourse in the court

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