Dred Scott sagen og dens betydning

HistorySt. Louis' old courthouse was the site of one of the most important events in American history. Dred Scott, a slave aged some 50 years, and his wife Harriet, petitioned for their freedom in 1846. The Scotts' two trials, in 1847 and 1850 in Missouri, instigated a series of complex events which resulted in a Supreme Court decision, and ultimately hastened the onset of the American Civil War.

Early lifeDred Scott was born in South Hampton County, Virginia in 1799 as property of the Peter Blow family. It appears that Scott was originally named Sam and had an older brother named Dred. However, when the brother died as a young man, Scott chose to use his brother's name. He spent his life as a slave, and never learned to read or write. The Blow family settled near Huntsville, Alabama, where they unsuccessfully tried farming. Not long after their first move, the Blows moved to St. Louis, and sold Dred to Dr. John Emerson, a military surgeon stationed at Jefferson Barracks. Dred accompanied Emerson to many posts in Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory, where slavery had been prohibited by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. During this time, Dred married Harriet Robinson, also a slave, and later had two children. The Scott family returned to St. Louis with Dr. Emerson and his new wife in 1842. When John Emerson died in 1843, Dred, Harriet, and their children were hired out by Mrs. John Emerson to work for other families in St. Louis.