DREDD SCOTT
America in 1857 was a nation on the brink. Relationship between the North andSouth had been strained for decades and was only getting worse. All tension had to dowith the issues of slavery. In 1848 the U.S. had acquired new lands in the Mexicancession, and the debate was on. The question was whether or not the South should beallowed to spread slavery into the new states. This debate turned violent many times. TheSouth threatened to secede from the Union if a candidate from the Republican party, whowas antislavery, won. Amidst all of the tension would emerge a slave named Dredd Scott. Dredd Scott was a slave to Dr. John Emerson in St.Louis, Missouri a slave state.Scott spent most of his time in Illinois, a free state, because his owner Dr. Emerson was anArmy doctor and he stayed in Fort Armstrong in Illinois. Living in a free state hadconstituted freedom for previous slaves so Scott felt that he too deserved his freedom andhe brought his first case to court on April 6, 1846, at this time he had moved back toMissouri and was the property of Dr. Emerson's wife. Scott filed a declaration on April 6,1846,which stated that Mrs. Emerson had "beat, bruised and ill treated him" before
First Scott had a new owner who was John F. Northernersfeared that slavery would spread to their territory and the Southerners grew angry withanti-slavery followers in the North. The difference now was thattwo of the three justices serving on the court were pro-slavery whereas in cases prior toScott vs. He also agreed to take Scott's defense at no charge. Taney stated that, one of the privileges reserved forcitizens of the United States was the privilege of suing in a court of the United States. The Dredd Scott case can be seen as a failure for Scott himself but it broughtabout many political debates about slavery. The Dredd Scott case inspired many abolitionist feelings amongst Americans. The court ruled against Scott in 1852 and once again his attempt atfreedom had failed. This upheldthe Missouri Supreme Courts decision ruling in favor of Sanford. The court battlelasted nearly a month and on March 6, 1857, the court had reached a decision. The lawyer that took his case was a man named, MontgomeryBlair, a fellow Missourian.
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