Dred & Harriet Scott: Freedom On Trial, Part 3

Part 3: The US Supreme Court

In 1857, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Scotts had no right to sue for their freedom. The chief justice wrote that Black people, free or enslaved, had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.

Born in racism, the Dred Scott decision inflamed tensions leading to civil war. Northerners who hated slavery were furious. Southern enslavers were elated.

And the Scotts? After the court’s decision, the son of Dred’s original enslaver assumed their ownership. He freed them two months later.

Видео Dred & Harriet Scott: Freedom On Trial, Part 3 канала Minnesota Historical Society