In 1857, Dred Scott was the most famous slave in America. He hadn't been seeking notoriety, just freedom for himself and his family, but his path to freedom had taken him to the Supreme Court.
Born in Virginia around 1800, Scott's master was Peter Blow. Blow moved to Alabama and, in 1830, to St. Louis. Blow died two years later, and Scott was bought by army surgeon Dr. John Emerson.
As a military man, Emerson moved around a lot and took Scott with him to Illinois, which was a free state, and then to a fort in Wisconsin, which was also free. It was in Wisconsin that Scott met Harriet Robinson. Her ownership was transferred to Emerson when she and Scott married. Their union produced two children who were born into slavery.
Emerson and his family were back in Missouri when the doctor died in 1843. Scott tried to buy his family's freedom, but Mrs. Emerson refused. Thus, began Scott's journey to the Supreme Court.
The law in Missouri, as confirmed by the Missouri Supreme Court, was "once free, always free." Scott's lawyers argued that Scott's time in the free state of Illinois and the free territory of Wisconsin made him free in Missouri.
Scott lost his first battle in court in June 1847 because his lawyers could not prove Scott and his family were owned by Dr. Emerson's widow. In 1848, the Missouri Supreme Court decided the case should be retried, which was done in 1850. This time, Scott won, but the victory was short-lived. The decision was appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court and reversed in 1852. Scott's next day in court was an appeal in 1854 before the U.S. Circuit Court, but the decision of the Missouri Supreme Court was upheld. Next stop - the Supreme Court.
Another two years passed. In 1856, arguments were heard by the Supreme Court regarding their authority to hear Scott vs. Sandford. (Sandford was a court clerical error. The name was really Sanford, and he was Mrs. Emerson's brother who was handling her late husband's estate.)
On March 6, 1857, the court's 7-2 decision, which was written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, was read by Taney. It said people of African ancestry, whether free or slave, could never become citizens of the United States and, therefore, could not sue in federal court. The decision further said the federal government had no authority to prohibit slavery in its territories. It declared the Missouri Compromise of 1820 unconstitutional, overruled Missouri's "once free, always free" law and remanded the Scott family to slavery.
Epilogue: Mrs. Emerson's new husband, Mr. Chaffee, was an abolitionist and unaware his wife was the owner of the Scott family. After the court's decision, Mr. Chaffee arranged a trade between Taylor Blow of St. Louis, Missouri, and his wife. Mrs. Chaffee would receive the Scotts' wages for the previous seven years and Blow would get the Scotts. Then, on May 26, 1857, Taylor Blow took the Scotts before Judge Alexander Hamilton in St. Louis and legally freed them.
Elizabeth Davis was born and raised in Cooper County and has written Historically Yours for the Boonville Daily News for more than 10 years. In celebration of Missouri's Bicentennial, she has syndicated her column statewide and encourages readers all over the Show-Me State to submit topic suggestions for future columns to [email protected]