answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

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.

User Avatar

Junius Weimann

Lvl 13
1y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

AnswerBot

1w ago

In the Dred Scott v. Sandford case, Sandford refers to John F. A. Sandford, a US senator and the defendant in the case. Sandford argued that Dred Scott, an enslaved man, did not have the right to sue for his freedom because he was not a citizen. The Supreme Court's ruling in the case further entrenched slavery by denying Scott's freedom.

This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Who was sandford in the dred Scott v sandford case?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

What case did the fourteenth amendment overrule?

It overruled Marbury v. Madison


What yeard did dred Scott suprteme court case is decided?

Dred Scott v. Sandford : 1857 .


Does this case remain relevant during Dred Scott v Sandford case?

No, the 14th Amendment supersedes the Dred Scott decision.


What case determined African Americans were not slaves?

Dred Scott v. Sandford


What was the proper name for the Dred Scott case?

Dred Scott, Plaintiff in Error v. John F. A. Sandford, 60 US 393 (1857)The short title is Scott v. Sandford, but the case is often referred to colloquially as "the Dred Scott case." Sandford is misspelled in the Supreme Court documents; the proper spelling is Sanford, without a d. This cannot be corrected, however.


What was the Supreme Court's ruling in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case?

That Scott had no right to argue in court


What is Dred Scott's full name?

Dred Scott`s fll name was Dred Scott v. sandford


What is Dred Scott's full name?

Dred Scott`s fll name was Dred Scott v. sandford


Which Supreme Court case ruled that slaves were property and therefore had no legal rights?

Dred Scott v. Sandford


Who was chief justice of the US for the dred Scott ruling?

Roger B. Taney was the Chief Justice of the United States during the Dred Scott v. Sandford case. He delivered the majority opinion in the case, which ruled against Dred Scott's petition for freedom.


What landmark Supreme Court decisions was a prime factor leading to the Civil War?

Dred Scott v. Sanford


Who was the known slave that sued for his freedom in the case Dred Scott vs Sandford?

Dred Scott was the known slave who sued for his freedom in the case Dred Scott v. Sandford. The Supreme Court decision ruled against Scott, stating that as a slave, he was not a US citizen and therefore could not sue in federal court. This decision further fueled tensions over slavery in the US leading up to the Civil War.