mar 6, 1857 - Dred Scott v Sanford

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The case of Dred Scott v Sanford deals with slave rights. John Emerson was the slave owner of Dred Scott, and the case centered around the fact that John Emerson moved to the state of Illinois (where slavery is outlawed) and he took Dred Scott with him. After spending over a decade in Illinois and other Midwestern states, Dred Scott refused to move back to Missouri with Emerson when Emerson tried to make him. Dred Scott claimed that he was no longer a slave and sued Emerson, claiming that he was freed from being a slave because of Illinois’s laws. Dred Scott v Sanford was heard in the Supreme Court of Missouri, and the verdict was delivered on March 6th of 1857. The Supreme Court of Missouri ruled in favor of Sanford as the court found that slaves were not considered to be full citizens of the United States. For this reason, Dred Scott’s use of the fifth amendment of the constitution for defense was null and void. The legislation within the United States Constitution was not applicable, and as a result, Dred Scott was forced to return to slavery.

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