0
John Sanford, defendant in the landmark case Scott v. Sanford, (1857), was brother of Dr. Emerson's widow, Irene Emerson (Chaffee), and executor of Dr. John Emerson's estate.
Explanation
Dr. Emerson was a military physician who purchased Dred Scott from Peter Blow sometime around 1832. Emerson later met and married Eliza Irene Sanford (called Irene) in 1841, while stationed at a military post in Louisiana. When Emerson died in 1843, "ownership" of Dred Scott and his family passed to his widow, Irene.
Dred and Harriet Scott originally sued Irene Emerson for their freedom in St. Louis County Circuit Court in July 1847. Irene later moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, leaving her brother, John Sanford in charge of the ongoing legal battle.
Although Chief Justice Taney described John Sanford as the Scotts' owner, this appears to be either a misunderstanding, or a misrepresentation initiated by Sanford and/or his legal team.
In 1857, the year the Supreme Court ruled on the Scott v. Sanford case, Irene Emerson married Dr. Chaffee, an abolitionist and US Senator who was completely unaware that his wife owned the most famous slave in the United States. Chaffee discovered his wife owned the Scott family shortly before the Court delivered its verdict.
When Dred Scott lost, Chaffee arranged for ownership to be transferred from Irene to Taylor Blow (son Peter Blow), who emancipated the family in May 1857. Chaffee's involvement in the transfer tends to support the idea that Sanford had no legal claim to the Scott family, and only had standing in Court by virtue of his status as executor.
Court Citation:
Dred Scott v. Sandford*, 60 US 393 (1857)
* Proper spelling of the last name is Sanford, not Sandford. The Court made a clerical error that survived to the printed edition of United States Reports, the official government reporter of Supreme Court decisions, and therefore cannot be corrected.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoThe Dred Scott vs. Sanford case was decided in March of 1857 by the United State Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. In this decision, it was declared that all blacks, slaves as well as free , were not and could never become citizens of the United States.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoDred Scott, a black slave who lived in the free state of Illinois and the free territory of Wisconsin appealed to the Supreme Court in an attempt to be granted his freedom before moving back to the slave state of Missouri. The controversy surrounding the case was that slaves were property, they were not citizens and held no rights to sue. While the language of the Constitution 'all men were created equal' was challenged, the case had a disappointing outcome for Dred Scott. On the positive side, the case brought slavery to the attention of the nation.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoJohn Sanford, defendant in the landmark case Scott v. Sanford, (1857), was brother of Dr. Emerson's widow, Irene Emerson (Chaffee), and executor of Dr. John Emerson's estate.
When Irene Emerson (Chaffee) moved out of state and married Dr. Calvin Chaffee, a congressman and abolitionist, Dred Scott's "ownership" was mysteriously transferred to Sanford, who pursued the case in court.
Case Citation:
Dred Scott v. Sandford*, 60 US 393 (1857)
* Proper spelling of the last name is Sanford, not Sandford. The Court made a clerical error that survived to the printed edition of United States Reports, the official government reporter of Supreme Court decisions, and therefore cannot be corrected.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoSanford
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Who took the Scott vs Sanford case to court?
Dred Scott
Why was there so much tension in the Dred Scott vs Sanford case?
did you answer it
The case that helped precipitate the Civil War was?
Dred Scott v. Sanford
The court case that addressed the issue of slavery?
Dred Scott v. Sanford
What was the dred Scott v Sanford case?
ether or not slaves could be considered citizens
Where did the Dred Scott vs Sanford case take place?
It took place in 1857, in Missouri.
What decision declared the Missouri compromise unconstitutional?
The admission of California to the Union - it was too big to be accommodated according to the terms of that compromise.
How did the Dred Scottdecision affect the civil rights of African Americans?
Dred Scott was found guilty in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case. This caused the African Americans to not be allowed to fight for freedom in court.
Who was the plaintiffs in the dred Scott v Sanford case?
The plaintiff in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case was Dred Scott, a slave who had lived in free states with his master and believed he should be granted freedom as a result. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled against him, denying his right to freedom and further inflaming tensions between the North and South over the issue of slavery.
What precedent was established by the decision in Dred Scott v Sanford?
The finding in the Dred Scott vs Sanford case was tha when a slave master took a slave tho the north, the slave was notautomaticaly freed and furthermore that slaves were not people, but property.
What city did the Supreme Court neet to decide the Dred Scott v Sanford case?
The Supreme Court met in Washington, D.C. when it decided the Dred Scott case. It has met in Washington for every case since February 1801.
What year was Dred Scott ruled a slave by the Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Sanford did not decide if Dred Scott was a slave or not, but that slaves (and their descendants) could not be counted as US citizens and had no right to sue in court.
