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Description
An illiterate slave, Dred Scott trusted in an all-white, slave-owning jury to declare him free. But after briefly experiencing the glory of freedom and manhood, a new state Supreme Court ordered the cold steel of the shackles to be closed again around his wrists and ankles. Falling to his... read more
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Summary
An illiterate slave, Dred Scott trusted in an all-white, slave-owning jury to declare him free. But after briefly experiencing the glory of freedom and manhood, a new state Supreme Court ordered the cold steel of the shackles to be closed again around his wrists and ankles. Falling to his... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Cast of Characters/Important People
- Dred Scott: Dred Scott was an enslaved man of "100 percent pure" African descent. Dred’s case was predicated on the fact that he was taken by his master, an officer in the U.S. Army, from the slave state of Missouri to the free state of Illinois and then to the free territory of Wisconsin. He lived on free soil for a long period of time. Born in Southampton, Virginia, in his youth, Dred Scott was known as "Sam." He later changed his name to Dred Scott. He moved with his master to Huntsville, Alabama and later to St. Louis, Missouri. In 1831 his owner, Peter Blow, died and John Emerson, a surgeon in the U.S. Army, bought him. He accompanied his new master to Illinois (a free state) and Wisconsin (a territory). While in what is now Minnesota, around 1836 he met and married Harriett Robinson. In 1843 Emerson died and left his estate to his widow Irene Emerson, who refused Scott's demand for his freedom. He then obtained the assistance of two attorneys who helped him to sue for his freedom in court.
- Harriet Scott: Harriet Robinson Scott was born around 1820 in Virginia, or perhaps Pennsylvania, it is unclear as yet. As a young girl, she was taught by her mother, who worked at an inn owned by the Dillon family, to do laundry. Harriet's owner, Indian agent Major Lawrence Taliaferro, moved her to Ft. Snelling, a frontier army outpost in area of the Wisconsin Territory that would become Minnesota. There she met Dred Scott, and fell in love with this man who was a widower and nearly twice her age. In those days, it was customary for slaves to be joined as a couple by jumping the broom. Harriet, however, insisted on a wedding and persuaded Major Taliaferro, who was also a justice of the peace, to perform the ceremony. Harriet believed deeply in the strength of the family bond, and wanted this official ceremony to mark the start of her own family. Many historians believe this marriage gave additional credence to the Scotts' claim to freedom. Harriet was just 19 years old when she was brought to St. Louis with Dred by his owner, Dr. John Emerson in 1840. During their marriage, Dred and Harriet had four children two boys who died as infants and two girls. Eliza was born in 1838 on the steamboat Gypsy in free territory. However, her status was that of her mother's, a slave. Lizzie born in 1846 and was an additional motivation for them to seek their freedom . The family attended the Second African Church in St. Louis whose pastor was Rev. John Anderson, a freeman and an abolitionist. Soon after Dr. Emerson's death in 1843, the Scotts sought to buy their freedom from his widow, Mrs. Irene Sanford Emerson, a member of the respected Sanford family in St. Louis. She denied their request, and Rev. Anderson is believed to have influenced the Scotts' decision to sue for their freedom. Harriet and Dred fought for their freedom for 11 years through 5 trials that culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court decision that denied them full rights as citizens. As a mother, Harriet was devoted to her daughters' freedom and safety. Harriet's partnership with her husband Dred played a critical role in their persistence for freedom and family unity. Harriet was determined to win freedom, if not for herself, then certainly for her children. The girls were taught laundering, and Dred and Harriet saw to it that they were hidden away for safety when the case got heated. She was well aware of the slave-era principal of matrilinearity, which meant that the status of a child, free or slave, depended on the status of the mother. A few months after the verdict, Taylor Blow, the son of Dred's original owner, freed Dred and Harriet and their daughters on May 26, 1857. They remained in what is now downtown St. Louis where Dred lived until his death in 1858. Harriet lived through the Civil War and saw the end of slavery. How she must have longed for Dred to see that day! She lived another 18 years after the notorious US Supreme Court Decision, in St. Louis, MO where she continued to do laundry and enjoyed her daughters and grandchildren. She listed herself in the City Street Directory and afforded herself of the same dignity any person had. Harriet died in St. Louis on June 20, 1876. For many years, it was unknown where her body lay. It was thought by many that she may have been buried next to Dred. In 1999, the Elijah P, Lovejoy Society of St, Louis placed a cenotaph next to Dred's headstone in Calvary Cemetery because it was unknown where she was. In 2006, Mrs. Ruth Ann Hagar discovered records that located her resting place in Greenwood Cemetery, where as many as 50,000 African-Americans are interred. The original burial record notes that she was the 112th burial in the cemetery in 1876.
Memorable Quotes
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“To him, the river sang. It intoned but one word, repeated with every ripple, and lap, and tide. One word that began with a gurgle far to the north, crescendoed through the heart of a nation, and climaxed in the Deep South with such force that no power on earth could hold it back. One word that bled from every pore. One word: FREEDOM!”
First Sentence
To him, the river sang. It intoned but one word, repeated with every ripple, and lap, and tide.
Table of Contents
Authors & Contributors
- Mark L. Shurtleff (Author) - Mark L. Shurtleff spent almost an entire decade researching, studying and writing the life and times of Dred Scott. "Am I Not a Man? The Dred Scott Story" is the literary triumph which emerged from that time.
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