The Case Of Dred Scott V. Sandford

Dred Scott was a dedicated man who stood strongly for his declaration of independence. Dred Scott was an enslaved African American man who had been taken by his owner, Dr. John Emerson, to Free states and territories with his wife Harriet Scott and later attempted to sue for his own and families freedom. The Case is known as Dred Scott vs. Sandford or the “Dred Scott Decision.” Dred Scott was born around 1795, in Southampton County, Virginia. His parents were slaves so as a child he was raised into a home of slavery. Dred lived with a family under the name Blow. It is uncertain if he was raised in the Blow household or not. Dreds master, Peter Blow, moved from Alabama to Missouri. While after Mr. Blow’s death, Dred was sold to a man with the name Dr. John Emerson. Dr. Emerson was a U.S. Army doctor. Dr. John Emerson traveled to Illinois and the Wisconsin Territories which both prohibited slavery. In 1846, when Emerson died, Dred Scott tried to buy freedom for himself and his family. He tried to get it from Emerson's widow, but she refused to let him. Dred Scott made history by creating a legal battle to gain his rights as a free man. The case began its journey in 1846. The United States Supreme Court decided 7–2 against Scott because neither he nor any other person of African

In 1850, the widow, Irene Sanford Emerson had remarried. Her new husband was abolitonist, who shortly after their marriage was elected to the U.S. Congress. Her husband was unaware that his wife owned the most prominent slave in the United States until one month before the Supreme Court had made their decision. By then it was too late for him to intervene and try and have a say in what happens. Chaffee, Irene’s husband, was criticized for being married to a slaveholder. He then persuaded Irene to return Scott and his family to the Blow family. By then, the Blow family had moved to Missouri and became opponents of