Taking place in March 1857 the Dred Scott case is known as “one of the most controversial events preceding the civil war.”[2]Throughout the case Scott argues that the time he and his wife spent in free territories should make them eligible for emancipation. Several officials such as Chief Justice Roger Taney argued the validity of “once free, always free,” and concluded that upon his return to Missouri his previous whereabouts were not relevant regarding his freedom. Scott vs. Emerson took years to be resolved. The state court declared Scott free but then argued the validity of Missouri’s “Long standing doctrine of once free always free” in the Missouri Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court as well as the Federal Courts reached a verdict. Scott was denied in court by Taney. The court ruled that “no blacks, free or slave could claim U.S citizenship,” and because they were not U.S citizens they could not federally sue. Several Abolitionists took this as an opportunity to be heard while others proceeded in uproars and riots that would foreshadow the spark of the civil war that was to follow. “Two justices, John McLean of Ohio and Benjamin R. Curtis of Massachusetts, wrote devastating critiques of Taney’s opinion. Curtis in particular undercut most of Taney’s historical arguments, showing that African Americas had voted in a number of states at the founding. At the time of the ratification of the Articles of Confederation, he wrote ‘All free native-born inhabitants of the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina, though descended from African slaves, were not only citizens of those States, but such of them had necessary qualifications possessed the franchise of electors, on equal terms with other citizens.’ Thus, Curtis argued, they were members of the nation and could not now be denied the right to claim black citizenship.”

            The Dred Scott decision was a popular and controversial case that even though he was denied by the court he was Later set free along with his relatives by the Blows, who they had been sent back to after Mrs. Emerson remarried. The decision led to the emergence of Abraham Lincoln as well as creating a rise in sectional tension between the north and south. Scott died from tuberculosis shortly after the first year of gaining his freedom on September 17,1858. His wife outlived him by 18 years. Though Scott’s freedom was short lived he set the bar for his family and his case can be seen as the turning point in African American History.

Dred Scott being a slave, free black and advocate for optimism sparked a way of life for African American giving them hope and a future. Though his glory was short lived he worked hard for the results that many feared reaching for. From working fields to serving in the military and standing in on a court setting Scott, as many people would agree, was by far deserving of a citizen title. 

 

[1] Nancy A. Hewitt and Steven F. Lawson. “Exploring American Histories: A Brief Survey with Sources.” Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2013.[2] Melvin I Urofsky. “Dred Scott Decision.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 8 Aug. 2017, www.britannica.com/event/Dred-Scott-decision

Hewitt, Nancy A. and Steven F. Lawson. “Exploring American Histories: A Brief Survey with Sources.” Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2013. Loose-Leaf, Combined Volume, ISBN: 978.1.319.04172.4 (KC customized edition) 

“Images of Abraham Lincoln Papers: 1833-1916: Abraham Lincoln, [December 1856].” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/resource/mal.0070700/?sp=2. 

“The Revised Dred Scott Case Collection.” Digital Library, digital.wustl.edu/d/dre/history.html.0

 “Transcript of Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857).” Our Documents - Transcript of Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857), www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=29&page=transcript.

Urofsky, Melvin I. “Dred Scott Decision.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 8 Aug. 2017, www.britannica.com/event/Dred-Scott-decision.