Dred Scott vs. Sanford: One Man’s Struggle for Freedom

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In 1847 Dred Scott shook up the world of slavery. He fueled more disagreements between the South and the North, Abolitionists and plantation owners. By doing what he did, Dred added to the tension between the two groups – the tension that would eventually lead to the Civil war.

When Dred Scott first sued for his freedom, his master, John Emerson, had just died. John had been a doctor that worked for the army in the Illinois and Wisconsin areas when he bought Dred. Since both Illinois and never did.  Only after his owners death did Dred, at 50, seek freedom for himself and his wife. Unfortunately, Mrs. Emerson refused to grant him freedom. 

From the beginning Dred offered to pay for their freedom, but because John Emerson’s wife, Irene, refused, Scott did the only reasonable thing he really could – sue. In 1847 the case was first tried, but Dred Scott lost because of a technicality. However, the next year, 1850, the Supreme Court in Missouri decided to retry the case. This time everything went right, and Dred Scott and his family were granted their freedom.

But of course, the story doesn’t end there,  because in 1852 Irene Emerson appealed, and the Missouri Supreme Court reversed their ruling. Once again Dred Scott was a slave. He wasn’t giving up though. Scott had help from a group of lawyers who abhorred slavery this time, and was ready for anything. Unfortunately, he lost. You’d think he might give up, but he was not letting go of freedom now that he’d tasted it.

Scott appealed to the U.S. Supreme court next. Seven out of the nine judges agreed that he should remain a slave; and Chief Justice Rodger B Taney ruled that because Dred was a slave he was not a citizen, so he did not have the right to even be in the court system. Also, he said that because slaves were personal property Scott had never been free.  This caused an uproar. Southern plantation owners approved of the ruling while abolitionists in the North were outraged by it.

Many northerners were scared that this ruling was the beginning of slavery spreading throughout all of the United States. Because of this many were forced to act in opposition. If the court case had never happened, Abraham Lincoln might never had been elected. Although it was unfortunate that this case, which could have been a monumental win for slavery, was lost for the abolitionists, it is still an important piece of our history – it gave many Americans a wakeup call.

Dred Scott never won in the courts, but was eventually freed by his former master’s son who bought him and set him free. Nine months later he died. While he did not win physically, he was a necessary part in the steps the country was taking towards the Civil war. This situation brought slavery to the American people consciousness and spurred many to action politically. The case of Dred Scott vs. Sandford was a major piece in the election of Abraham Lincoln, the civil war, and, eventually, the freeing of the slaves with the 13th Amendment.