Reflecting on Dred Scott

ST. LOUIS -- On March 6, 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court denied slave Dred Scott his freedom, a decision that helped push a nation inflamed over slavery closer to Civil War.

Throughout St. Louis, events have been and will be held to mark the 150th anniversary of the ruling in the court case that began in this city, and to foster new discussions about race and equality in America.

When he wrote his majority decision in the 7-2 case -- which regarded the freedom of both Dred and his wife, Harriet Scott -- U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney may have thought he was resolving questions related to slavery, scholars said.

Taney said Scott, being of African descent, was not a citizen of the United States and had no right to sue in the federal courts. He wrote that Scott had never been free, that the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional, and the federal government could not prohibit slavery in the new territories.

"It was saying that black men had no rights that white men were bound to respect," said Bob Moore, historian at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, the national park in St. Louis that includes the Gateway Arch and the Old Courthouse where the case was first heard.

Exhibit specialist Terry Weber worked on the exhibit marking the 150th anniversary of the Dred Scott decision at the Old Courthouse in St. Louis. (TOM GANNAM ~ Associated Press)

Though the courtroom where the case began no longer exists, that part of the courthouse houses a special exhibit about the case. Visitors also can see historically restored courtrooms elsewhere in the building.

Despite the Civil War and constitutional amendments abolishing slavery and giving black people the right of citizenship and to vote, the legacy of the Dred Scott decision remains, said Washington University history and law professor David Konig.

"The stigma of slavery has persisted. It's a stigma that has crippled America, both black and white," Konig said.

That's why, scholars said, it's important to reflect both on Scott's case and its effects.

Born in Virginia around 1799, Dred Scott was the property of the Peter Blow family. The Blows brought Dred Scott to St. Louis in 1830, but he was sold because of his master's financial problems, according to information at the Old Courthouse.

Scott was bought by Dr. John Emerson, a military surgeon, who later took Scott to forts in Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory, where slavery was prohibited under the Missouri Compromise.

Emerson allowed Dred to marry Harriet Robinson, a slave, and bought her so the two could stay together.

In 1842, Emerson and his wife, whose maiden name was Irene Sanford, returned to St. Louis. Not long after, Emerson died and his wife hired out the Scotts to other masters.

Dred and Harriet Scott sued for their freedom in St. Louis in 1846, using the argument that they had previously lived in areas where slavery was prohibited by federal law. At the time, slavery was legal in Missouri.

Freedom suits

Such lawsuits, known as freedom suits, were not unheard of. About 300 were filed in St. Louis in the pre-Civil War period, Moore said. Nearly 50 percent of the time, the suing slaves were granted their freedom in those cases, Moore said.

Dred Scott won in St. Louis, but Irene Emerson appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court. That court reversed the St. Louis ruling, and in 1854, Dred Scott filed suit against John Sanford, who was Irene Emerson's brother and executor of the Emerson estate. That case was decided in Sanford's favor, and Scott appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Despite losing the Supreme Court case, Dred and Harriet Scott and their two daughters were given their freedom in 1857 by the same family that owned him early in his life, the Blows. Dred Scott died the next year.

In St. Louis, the case is being remembered in several ways, including museum exhibits, theater performances and academic gatherings. Several organizations also are working with schoolchildren to educate them about the case and its effects.

On the Net:

Dred Scott Anniversary: www.dredscottanniversary.org

The Dred Scott Foundation: www.thedredscottfoundation.org