Role of Dredd Scott Case in the Civil War - Essay Example

He was then purchased by John Emerson who took Scott to Illinois which was a free state that prohibited slavery under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. In 1836, Emerson moved to Wisconsin which is now Minnesota where again slavery was prohibited under the Missouri Compromise. During their stay at Fort Snelling, Emerson acquired a slave Harriet Robinson which Emerson married.

In 1843, Emerson died and his widow hired Scott out an army action when Scott first sought freedom for himself and his wife. He first attempted to buy his freedom from Mrs. Emerson for $300 but was declined. After the refusal, Scott turned to the courts for his freedom.

The trial began in June of 1847. He lost because he could not prove that he and his wife Harriet were owned by Mrs. Emerson. He then sought for retrial in 1850 at the St. Louis circuit court which ruled that Scott and his wife were free. This decision however was overturned after two years when the Missouri Supreme Court reversed the decision of the lower court. Scott then elevated the case to a  federal court, the United States Circuit Court in Missouri. Unfortunately, the court upheld the Missouri Supreme Court decision.

Dredd Scott now has to make his last appeal at the United States Supreme Court. The majority of the justices however were pro-slavery being appointed by Presidents from the South where five came from slave-holding families. The main argument at the Supreme Court was whether Scott was indeed a citizen.

The United States Supreme Court ruled in March of 1857 by Chief Justice Robert B. Taney who wrote also the decision of the court. The decision stated that since Dredd was of African descent, a Negro, he was therefore not a citizen of the United States and it follows that he has no right to seek redress to the court for his freedom.  At the same time, the decision also declared the Missouri Compromise of 1820which prohibited slavery in selected states to be unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court decision was received with mixed reactions. In the South, this was a welcome decision being a staunch supporter of slavery. In the North, however, the decision triggered social unrest. Historians also agreed that this decision was instrumental in Abraham Lincoln’s nomination to the Republican Party and his ascension to the Presidency. It also caused the South’s secession from the Union which started the Civil War. Scott and his wife on the other hand were later purchased by the sons of Peter Blow after the Supreme Court decision and set them free.