The Dred Scott Case

Dred Scott, was a slave who unsuccessfully sued for his, his wife's, and his two daughter's freedom in the Dred Scott vs. Stanford case of 1857.  The case was based on the fact that even though he and his family were slaves, they had lived with their master, John Emerson, in a state where slavery was illegal, Wisconsin.  When his master took Scott back to a slave state he sued saying he was a free man because he had lived in Wisconsin.  Scott ended up bringing his case all the way to the Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court, however, decided 7–2 against Scott, saying that neither he nor any other slave could be considered a citizen of the United States, and therefore Scott could not file a suit in court. Also, Scott's temporarily living in a free state did not free him under the Missouri Compromise, which the court ruled unconstitutional as it would wrongly steal property from Scott's owner.  In conclusion this case only further dived the North and South over the issue of slavery.