{"id":54763,"date":"2022-06-27T12:10:48","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T17:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/supreme\/supreme-court-insights\/dred-scott-v-sandford-history-decision-and-impact.html"},"modified":"2022-06-27T12:10:48","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T17:10:48","slug":"dred-scott-v-sandford-history-decision-and-impact","status":"publish","type":"supreme","link":"https:\/\/supreme.findlaw.com\/supreme-court-insights\/dred-scott-v-sandford-history-decision-and-impact.html","title":{"rendered":"Dred Scott v. Sandford: History, Decision, and Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Dred Scott v. Sandford: History, Decision, and Impact<\/h1>\n
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\n By Laura Temme, Esq.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Ally Marshall, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

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In 1857, the United States Supreme Court heard the case of an enslaved man named Dred Scott, who filed suit to free himself and his family. Slavery in the United States was a hotbed issue at the time, an issue that was about to boil over into the bloodiest conflict in American history.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

In a 7-2 vote, the Supreme Court held in Dred Scott v. Sandford<\/i> that African Americans were not and could not become U.S. citizens. And therefore, Scott had no standing to sue in federal court. Unsurprisingly, the case is known as one of the worst decisions in the Supreme Court’s history – sparking a controversy that led the country closer to the Civil War.
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Background<\/h2>\r\n

Born into slavery in 1799, Dred Scott lived in Virginia, Alabama, and Missouri (all slave states) during the early years of his life. When his enslaver, Peter Blow, died in 1832, Scott was sold to Dr. John Emerson.<\/p>\r\n

Emerson took Scott to Illinois (a free state) and then to Fort Snelling in the Wisconsin Territory (present-day Minnesota). Years earlier, the Missouri Compromise outlawed slavery in the Wisconsin Territory. While at Fort Snelling, Scott met an enslaved woman named Harriet Robinson.<\/p>\r\n

In a civil ceremony rare for the time, the two married, and Harriet’s enslaver transferred her to Emerson. While living at Fort Snelling, they had two daughters, Eliza and Lizzie. In 1838, Emerson returned to St. Louis with his wife, Irene Sandford, bringing Scott and his family with them.<\/p>\r\n

When Dr. Emerson died suddenly in 1843, the Scotts transferred to Irene. Dred Scott tried to purchase his family’s freedom from Irene several times over the next few years, but she refused. Eventually, she transferred ownership to her brother, John F. A. Sandford.<\/p>\r\n

Fighting for Freedom<\/h2>\r\n

Three years after Emerson’s death, Dred and Harriet Scott filed separate lawsuits in state court to obtain their freedom. A Missouri statute stated that an enslaved person who was taken to a free territory automatically became free – and they could not be re-enslaved upon their return to a slave state. This rule was known as “once free, always free.”<\/p>\r\n

The Scotts knew that slavery was illegal in the Wisconsin Territory where they had lived, so they sued for their freedom under the “once free, always free” rule. In their first trial, they lost on a technicality. But the judge granted a retrial, and in 1850 they won their freedom. When Irene Sandford appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court, the Scott’s cases were combined, and the state’s high court reversed – making Scott and his family slaves once again.<\/p>\r\n

Undeterred, Scott filed suit in federal court, spending four years appealing the decisions of federal judges – all the way to the United States Supreme Court. There, in what is now one of the most infamous decisions of the Court’s history, Dred Scott lost his case for freedom.<\/p>\r\n

The Supreme Court Under Roger Taney<\/h2>\r\n

In 1857, the Supreme Court was led by Chief Justice Roger Taney. A controversial figure, to say the least, Taney was a staunch believer in states’ rights. And although, ironically, he freed those who were enslaved on his family’s plantation when he inherited the property – he believed it wasn’t up to the federal government to outlaw slavery. Later in his career, Taney became even more unpopular when he challenged President Abraham Lincoln’s ability to enact emergency measures during the Civil War.<\/p>\r\n

Taney’s name reappeared in the news in recent years when Maryland Governor Larry Hogan decided to\u00a0remove a 145-year-old statue of Taney<\/a>\u00a0from outside the Maryland State House.<\/p>\r\n

The Dred Scott<\/i> Decision<\/h2>\r\n

The Supreme Court’s decision in\u00a0Dred Scott v. Sandford<\/i><\/a>\u00a0did three important things:<\/p>\r\n