) In the 1857 Dred Scott decision, Chief Justice Roger Taney denied Dred Scott of not being able to become a free person, a citizen of the state of Missouri, and a U.S. citizen. Taney stated "Blacks, were not born into a class that qualified for these rights, and, therefore, even if they were native born they still did not qualify for U.S. citizenship." (pg.47) So, since Dred Scott was an African American and knowing at the time how inferior he was to the Whites, how did his case appear in front of the United States Supreme Court?.
Dred Scott was born around 1800 in Virginia. Scott and his master, Peter Blow migrated west. They traveled westward starting from Scott's hometown and ended up in St. Louis Missouri, where his master had died. Scott was bought by an army surgeon Dr. John Emerson, who took Scott to the free state of Illinois. He had stayed there for almost three years, and in that time Emerson had gained ownership of another slave, Harriet, also Dred Scott's wife. .
Dred Scott first went to trial to sue for his freedom in 1847. The court system denying his right to sue finally ten years later brought his court case before the United States Supreme Court. This is what led to the most recognized case in history. The court decided that all people of African descent, slaves as well as those who were free, could never become citizens of the United States, and therefore could not sue in federal court. This is quite ironic for a person, a human being, to be living in a "free" state, but not to be a "free" man. Obviously, Scott remained a slave. .
Years past, and Scott's stay in Illinois, which was considered a free state granted him legal standing to claim his freedom, however Scott never did so. I find this odd that Dred Scott would have not pushed for his freedom when granted legal standing. We can easily assume that he was not aware of his legal rights. After a couple years, Emerson was transferred to Louisiana, where Dred Scott and Harriet were called upon.
