The Dred Scott Case: A Chronology

Fort Snelling in the Wisconsin Territory (present day Minnesota).  Dred Scott argued that his residence here made him a free man under the law.  The Supreme Court, in Dred Scott v Sandford, disagreed.

Around 1800

Dred Scott was born a slave in Southhampton County, Virginia.

1818

Illinois enters the Union as a free state. Peter Blow moves from Virginia to Alabama, taking his slave, Dred Scott, with him.

1820

The Missouri Compromise prohibits slavery in the territories north and west of Missouri’s southern border.

1830 Peter Blow moves to St. Louis, bringing Dred Scott with him.

1832

Peter Blow dies. Dred Scott is purchased by Dr. John Emerson from Blow’s estate. Emerson is stationed at the time at Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis.

1833

Emerson begins service as an army surgeon at Fort Armstrong, near Rock Island in the free state of Illinois. Dred Scott accompanies Dr. Emerson to Illinois.

1836

Congress establishes the Wisconsin Territory, which includes present-day Minnesota. In May, Dr. Emerson and Dred Scott move to Fort Snelling in the Wisconsin territory (adjacent to present-day MSP airport).

1836 or 1837

Dr. Emerson buys a slave women named Harriet from Major Taliaferro, an officer from Virginia. Dred and Harriet are married with their master's consent.

1837

Dr. Emerson is transferred to Fort Jesup in Louisiana. The Scotts are hired out to another officer at Fort Snelling.

1838

Dr. John Emerson marries Irene Sandford. Dred and Harriet Scott spend about 5 months in Louisiana. Later in the year, Emerson is reassigned to Fort Snelling and the Scotts return there with him. On a steamboat on the way north, Harriet Scott gives birth to a daughter, Eliza.

1840

Emerson is reassigned to Florida. The Scotts are sent to St. Louis.

1842

Emerson is discharged from the army and moves to the territory of Iowa, near Davenport. The Scotts remain in St. Louis.

1843

John Emerson dies. His wife, Irene Emerson, is his heir and manages his estate. The Scotts are kept for the benefit of Irene’s daughter.

April 6, 1846

Dred and Harriet Scott file separate petitions against Irene Emerson for their freedom in the St. Louis Courthouse (now called the "Old Courthouse" and maintained by the National Park Service).

1847

In a trial held in the Old Courthouse, the Scotts lose their case on a technicality.

1848

The Scotts are granted a second trial by the Missouri Supreme Court.

January 12, 1850

The Circuit Court of St. Louis County awards Dred Scott and his family their freedom. Mrs. Irene Emerson appeals to the Missouri Supreme Court.

1852

The Missouri Supreme Court overturns the Circuit Court decision and declares that Dred and Harriet Scott are still slaves despite their travels to a free state and a free territory. In so doing, Missouri breaks with its own past court decisions.

1854

The Scotts file a new suit in Federal Court. John F.A. Sanford of New York, Irene Emerson's brother and agent, is named as defendant. The defense argues that Dred Scott is not a citizen, and thus has no right to sue in court. The court upholds the right of Scott to sue, but the jury finds that he and his family are still slaves. The Scotts' lawyer, Roswell Field, appeals to the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 opens the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to slavery, as the matter might be determined by popular sovereignty. The Act leads to the creation of the Republican Party, opposed to expansion of slavery in the western territories.

1856

The Dred Scott case is considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. Montgomery Blair and George T. Curtis argue on behalf of the Scotts, Reverdy Jonson and Henry S. Geyer for Sanford.

James Buchanan is elected president.

March 6, 1857

Chief Justice Roger B. Taney announces the opinion of the court. Taney concludes Dred Scott's suit for freedom should be dismissed because (1) African-Americans are not considered to be citizens under the Constitution, thus Dred Scott had no right to sue in court, and (2) Scott’s residency in Wisconsin Territory had no effect on Dred Scott's status because the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.

Taylor Blow buys the freedom of the Scotts.

1858

Lincoln, in his “House Divided” speech, suggests a conspiracy including Buchanan, Pierce, and Taney to force slavery on the nation as a whole.

September 17, 1858

Dred Scott dies of tuberculosis.

October 16, 1858

John Brown raids the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry.

1860

Abraham Lincoln is elected president.

1861

The Civil War begins.

1863

President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves in the Confederacy.

1864

Chief Justice Taney dies.

1865

The Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, is ratified.

1868

The Fourteenth Amendment, giving citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States regardless of race, is ratified. The Court’s ruling in Dred Scott v Sandford is thus effectively reversed.

1876

Harriet Scott dies in St. Louis.