By Greg Munetz

He was born a slave in 1795 in Southampton County, Virginia He was industrious and intelligent, he served as a farmhand, a stevedore, a craftsmen and an all around handyman. In 1819 his original owner named Peter Blow moved to Huntsville, Alabama and then to St. Louis, Missouri. In 1832 his original owner died, then he was sold for $500 to a surgeon in the U.S. army named John Emerson who then moved to the free state of Illinois with Dred in 1834 and then moved to the Wisconsin territory. Later down the line the doctor moved back to Missouri with Dred. Beginning of His Life

When his new master had died (the surgeon) Dred was passed on to a man named John Sanford who was Mrs. Emerson's brother.. After his second master died and he got this new one who's name is above he tried to escape and the buy his way out of slavery. After these attempts failed he filed a suit in 1846 for his freedom. The Beginning Case

Dred went to court in June of 1847 He lost the case on a because he could prove that He and his wife Harriet were owned by Emerson’s widow The next year the Missouri supreme court decided that the case should be retried In the 1850 retrial the St. Louis court decided that he and his family were free. The Case

Two years later the Missouri Supreme Court stepped in again, and reversed the decision that was made by the other court. Dred and his lawyers the decided to take the case to the United States Circuit Court in Missouri. In 1854 the Circuit Court upheld the decision of the Missouri Supreme Court. After this Dred appealed his case to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney ruled that since Dred Scott was black and a slave he did not have citizenship in the united states therefore he did not have the right to sue for his freedom. The Case Continued…

The decision of this case also declared that the Missouri compromise of 1820, legislation which restricted slavery in certain territory's (free states) was unconstitutional. This decision greatly influenced the nomination of Abraham Lincoln as President. Which eventually led to the secession of the south and the start of the Civil War. Also Peter Blow's sons, who were childhood friends of Dred, had helped pay Dred's legal fees throughout the years. After the Supreme Court's decision, the former master's sons purchased Scott and his wife and set them free. Nine months after he was set free he died from tuberculosis. Conclusion

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