LAD/Blog #19: The Dred Scott Decision


In 1846, Dred Scott, a slave, and his wife filed suit against Irene Emerson for their freedom. Born into slavery in Virginia, Scott was eventually purchased by John Emerson in St. Louis. Scott went with him to Wisconsin and Illinois, where he married. Due to the Missouri compromise, Slavery was prohibited in those areas. they returned to St. Louis with the Emersons. Irene hired out the Scott family, after her husband had died, and it was then that Dred Scott sued for his freedom. Scott had lived in free states, but was still considered property of the Emersons. Nevertheless, Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled on the side of Emerson. He denounced the legal ability for Scott to sue in the first place, saying although some states grant African American citizenship, this does not relate to national citizenship. Therefore, he said, African Americans should not be able to stein federal courts and declared a lack of jurisdiction in the district courts. This decision ruled the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. Roger Taney ignored the precedent set as a result of the Missouri Compromise and made a questionable decision that many considered unconstitutional- a decision that eventually lead to the civil war.
The Dred Scott decision is similar to Plessy v. Ferguson which upheld  serration, "separate but equal", which was also later  deemed unconstitutional. 

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