Dred Scott lived with Dr. Emerson at a military post in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1834.
He also lived in the federal territory of Fort Snelling (now part of Minnesota), which prohibited slavery per the Missouri Compromise of 1820, as well the unincorporated federal Wisconsin Territories, which prohibited slavery per the Northwest Ordinance.
Dred Scott based his claim for freedom on the fact that his master had taken him to free states and territories.
Dred Scott argued that his time living in free territories should have made him a free man, as these territories prohibited slavery. He claimed that this should have nullified his status as a slave under the Missouri Compromise.
Dred Scot's master had taken him to a free territory.
He was a slave in a free state
Dred Scott was an African-American slave who unsuccessfully sued for his family's freedom. The three questions involved in the Dred Scott case are: 1. Can a slave who has been transported to a "free state" become free? 2. Can a slave sue in Federal Court? 3. Is a slave a citizen of the United States?
Dred Scott based his claim for freedom on the fact that his master had taken him to free states and territories.
Dred Scott, a slave, sued for his freedom after being taken by his owner to free territories. The landmark Supreme Court case of Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) ruled that even though Scott was in a free territory, he was not entitled to freedom because he was property under the law.
The Missouri Compromise of 1820, which designated certain territories as free and slave states, was found to be unconstitutional in the Dred Scott decision. The Supreme Court ruled that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories.
Chief Justice Taney believed that Dred Scott should not be free because he argued that African Americans, whether slave or free, were not considered citizens under the U.S. Constitution. Taney also argued that the federal government did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories, which meant that Scott's residence in a free state did not make him free.
Whether Dred Scott, as a slave, could sue in federal court. Whether residence in free territory made Scott free. Whether Congress had the power to prohibit slavery in certain territories.
No, the Chief Justice who presided over the Dred Scott case was Roger B. Taney. Dred Scott was the slave who sued for his freedom based on his residence in free territories.
Dred Scott.