The Dred Scott Amendments
Dred Scott was born in Southampton County, Virginia in the year 1795. Scott was a Civil Rights Activist prior to the American Civil War. Born a slave to the Blow family, Scott later ended up serving multiple families, moving from state to state during his enslavement. Scott met the love of his life, Harriet Robinson, while assisting his owner. They were able to marry because Scott convinced his owner to buy Harriet from her owner. After living in free states for multiple years of his life, Scott sued for his freedom in the Supreme Court. However, He was unsuccessful as Judge Roger B. Taney stated that a slave is property and not a citizen of the United States therefore could not sue in the Supreme Court. Despite this, the ruling of the Supreme Court was overrode by the 13th and 14th Amendments. Dred Scott died on September 17, 1858 from tuberculosis, only a little over a year after he gained his freedom.
The Dred Scott v. Sanford case was one of the lengthiest cases in Supreme Court history. Dred Scott's argument for the case was that he had lived in free states with one of his owner's. The court case started off in a district court, where Scott lost the initial trial, but won the second. However, this decision was overturned by the Missouri State Supreme Court. Scott then tried another suit in the federal court but was once again unsuccessful. Desperately, Scott went to the U.S. Supreme Court for one last shot of being a free man. 11 years after Scott's initial case, the Supreme Court announced their vote. Seven out of the nine judges sided in favor of Sanford. The verdict was state by Taney "... They had no rights which the white man was bound to respect." Taney also stated that The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional because Congress did not have the right to say slavery could exist in certain places and not.
Becoming too chaotic with controversy, Scott's current owner at the time gave the Scott family back
to his original owners, the Blow family. The Blow family freed the Scotts in May of 1857.
The 13th and 14th Amendments were then passed which overturned the ruling of the court case.
Biography.com Editors. “Dred Scott.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 2 Apr. 2014, www.biography.com/people/dred-scott-9477240?_escaped_fragment_=.
