Dred & Harriet Scott: Freedom On Trial, Part 4

Part 4: The Legacy of the Dred Scott Case.

Dred and Harriet Scott were an enslaved couple who lived at Fort Snelling for many years. In 1846, they sued for their freedom. The case dragged on for more than a decade.

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 4 канала Minnesota Historical Society