Thursday, September 29, 2011

Dred Scott

       In 1846 in Missouri, a slave named Dred Scott sued his owner for freedom and started a process in both state and federal that lasted for over 10 years, and ultimately ended in the Supreme Court.  Scott claimed that he had been living on free soil in Illinois and the Minnesota territory, and therefore he was free.  The Supreme Court decided that Scott was not a citizen and therefore had no right to bring this case to federal court; and that if he was freed it would deprive his owner of property. 
     Question:  If the Supreme Court had granted Dred Scott his freedom, what would that have meant for slaves in the South?