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had to go through in his life in his attempts for justice to be served. Dred Scott was born in 1799, and was an illiterate slave. His parents were slaves and so he was born the property of the Peter Blow family. In 1804 The United States took possession of Missouri and after many debates on whether or not it would be a slavery state, a resolution known as the Missouri Compromise came along. This made a balance in the number of free and slave states, the problem was that Missouri was located right in the middle of what was the freedom and slavery. In 1830, the Blow family moved to St.
Louis and then ran into some financial problems, which made them sell Dred Scott to Dr. John Emerson. Emerson was a military surgeon stationed just south of St. Louis in Jefferson Barracks.
For twelve years Dred Scott had to go with Emerson to different posts in Illinois and the Wisconsin territory where slavery was prohibited due to the Missouri Compromise. Also during this time Dred Scott married a woman by the name of Harriet Robinson, who was also a slave, and they had two children. In 1842, Dr. Emerson and his wife Irene moved back to St. Louis and Dred Scott and his family had to follow. Just a year later John Emerson died, so Mrs.
Emerson hired out the Scott family to work for other families in St. Louis. Then, on April 6, 1846, Dred Scott filed a law suit against Irene Emerson. Scott was suing for the nine years that he had been in free territories.
In these nine years he never made an attempt to get his freedom and it is not known why he waited until this specific time, there are only three possibilities that are considered though. One possibility is that he was tired of being hired out. Another possibility is that he was possibly on the verge of getting sold to another owner. The last possible reason was that Scott may have tried to pay for his freedom, but was refused of it.
It is known that the suit was not filed for political reasons. The Scotts' case took place in the St. Louis Circuit Court and in 1847 the jury ruled in Mrs. Emerson favor and dismissed the case.
The Scotts' were allowed to refile their suit. In 1850, the Scotts' got the outcome they deserved, as the jury believed that it was right for them to be free. Irene Emerson appealed the decision in 1852 and the State Supreme Court overruled the Circuit Court decision. Scott then filed a suit in the U. S. Federal Court in St.
Louis against John Sanford who had taken responsibility for John Emerson's estate and was also Irene Emerson's brother. The decision in this case again went against Scott and he then tried one more appeal in 1856. In the case of Scott v. Sanford the court stated that he should remain a slave being that he was nothing but property. The Supreme Court stated that "A black man had no rights which a white man had to respect. " The Scotts' remained slaves, that is until Mrs. Emerson decide to remarry.
Her new husband opposed slavery and gave the Scotts' back to their original owners, the Blow family. The Blow family were behind the Scotts' when they were fighting for their freedom and even had helped them financially. So the Blow family gave the Scotts' their freedom, but just a year later Dred Scott died of tuberculosis and was buried in the Wesleyan Cemetary in St. Louis. The Wesleyan Cemetary is now part of the St. Louis University campus and many bodies were moved to other sites.
Scott was reburied and is now at the Calvary Cemetary in North St. Louis. In my opinion it is very sad that Dred Scott had such a rough life. I feel that he should " ve been granted his freedom and it was unfair that he didn't. They judged him as being property and I don't see how they could do that to a human being. Though he didn't know how to read or write he tried his hardest to deal with all of his trials and it is a shame that justice was not served.
One thing did overcome from all of this though, his wife and kids got their freedom and he also was a major reason why the Civil War began in the fight for justice. Dred Scott is a hero though he did not win any of his cases. He opened the eyes of many and his life has educated many people including myself.
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Research essay sample on Dred Scott Missouri Compromise
