Dred Scott was born in Virginia in 1799 as a slave to Peter Blow and was later sold to Dr. John Emerson, a military surgeon. During his time with Dr. Emerson, Scott accompanied him to all of Dr. Emerson's posts in Minnesota, Missouri and Illinois. When Dr. Emerson died, Scott was sold to John Sanford. Scott sued Mrs. Emerson and Mr. Sanford, claiming that he was a citizen of free states because he had lived there for quite some time. Scott's case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where seven of nine Supreme court judges ruled that slaves were not considered citizens and therefore could not sue in court. The judges also ruled that the Missouri compromise was unconstitutional.
With the 1865 ratification of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which stated that slavery was unconstitutional, Scott and his family were finally free!
Dred Scott Portrait
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/12288
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