Dred Scott was an enslaved man who sued for his freedom in 1846. He had lived with his owner, an army physician, in both free states and territories before returning to the slave state of Missouri. Scott argued that his time in free territories had liberated him from slavery. His case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court , which ruled that he was not entitled to freedom and that African Americans could not be U.S. citizens. This decision, known as the Dred Scott decision , declared that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories, invalidating the Missouri Compromise and intensifying the sectional conflict that led to the American Civil War .

Why is Dred Scott known in American history?

Dred Scott is known in American history primarily for the landmark Dred Scott decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857. Scott, an enslaved man, sued for his freedom after living in free states and territories. The Court ruled that enslaved people were not citizens and therefore could not sue in federal court. It also declared that Congress lacked the power to prohibit slavery in U.S. territories, effectively invalidating the Missouri Compromise . This decision intensified the national debate over slavery and is considered a significant factor contributing to the American Civil War .

What was the Dred Scott case about?

The Dred Scott decision was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1857 concerning Dred Scott , an enslaved man. The Court ruled that Scott, having lived in free states and territories, was not entitled to his freedom. It further declared that enslaved people were property, not citizens, and therefore could not sue in federal court. The decision also asserted that Congress lacked the power to prohibit slavery in U.S. territories, effectively invalidating the Missouri Compromise and intensifying sectional tensions that contributed to the American Civil War .

What decision did the Supreme Court make in the Dred Scott case?

The Supreme Court's decision in the Dred Scott case, delivered on March 6, 1857, ruled that an enslaved person who had lived in a free state or territory was not entitled to freedom. The Court, in its majority opinion, stated that Dred Scott, as property, was not a U.S. citizen and therefore could not sue in federal court. Furthermore, the ruling declared that Congress lacked the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories, effectively invalidating the Missouri Compromise. The decision also asserted that people of African descent could never be U.S. citizens. This ruling significantly heightened sectional tensions and contributed to the outbreak of the American Civil War.

How did the Dred Scott decision affect enslaved people in the United States?

The Dred Scott decision of 1857 declared that enslaved or formerly enslaved persons of African descent could not be U.S. citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court. The Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott, having lived in free territories, was not entitled to his freedom. This decision further entrenched the institution of slavery by stating that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the territories, effectively invalidating the Missouri Compromise. This ruling significantly worsened sectional tensions and contributed to the outbreak of the American Civil War.

How did the Dred Scott case influence the events leading to the Civil War?

The U.S. Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision in 1857 significantly fueled the sectional controversy that led to the Civil War. The Court ruled that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the territories, invalidating the Missouri Compromise . This decision declared that enslaved or formerly enslaved African Americans could not be U.S. citizens and therefore had no right to sue in federal court. The ruling outraged abolitionists and further divided the nation, contributing to the rise of the Republican Party and ultimately the Civil War .

Dred Scott

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Born:: c. 1799, Southampton county, Virginia, U.S.

Died:: September 17, 1858, St. Louis, Missouri

Role In:: Dred Scott decision

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Dred Scott

American enslaved person

Written by

Melvin I. Urofsky

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Britannica Editors

Last updated

Sep. 26, 2026 •History

Top Questions

Who was Dred Scott?
Dred Scott was an enslaved man who sued for his freedom in 1846. He had lived with his owner, an army physician, in both free states and territories before returning to the slave state of Missouri. Scott argued that his time in free territories had liberated him from slavery. His case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that he was not entitled to freedom and that African Americans could not be U.S. citizens. This decision, known as the Dred Scott decision, declared that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories, invalidating the Missouri Compromise and intensifying the sectional conflict that led to the American Civil War.
1 Britannica Source
1. Dred Scott decision: Top Questions
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why is Dred Scott known in American history?
Dred Scott is known in American history primarily for the landmark Dred Scott decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857. Scott, an enslaved man, sued for his freedom after living in free states and territories. The Court ruled that enslaved people were not citizens and therefore could not sue in federal court. It also declared that Congress lacked the power to prohibit slavery in U.S. territories, effectively invalidating the Missouri Compromise. This decision intensified the national debate over slavery and is considered a significant factor contributing to the American Civil War.
1 Britannica Source
1. Dred Scott decision: Top Questions
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What was the Dred Scott case about?
The Dred Scott decision was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1857 concerning Dred Scott, an enslaved man. The Court ruled that Scott, having lived in free states and territories, was not entitled to his freedom. It further declared that enslaved people were property, not citizens, and therefore could not sue in federal court. The decision also asserted that Congress lacked the power to prohibit slavery in U.S. territories, effectively invalidating the Missouri Compromise and intensifying sectional tensions that contributed to the American Civil War.
1 Britannica Source
1. Dred Scott decision: Top Questions
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What decision did the Supreme Court make in the Dred Scott case?
The Supreme Court's decision in the Dred Scott case, delivered on March 6, 1857, ruled that an enslaved person who had lived in a free state or territory was not entitled to freedom. The Court, in its majority opinion, stated that Dred Scott, as property, was not a U.S. citizen and therefore could not sue in federal court. Furthermore, the ruling declared that Congress lacked the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories, effectively invalidating the Missouri Compromise. The decision also asserted that people of African descent could never be U.S. citizens. This ruling significantly heightened sectional tensions and contributed to the outbreak of the American Civil War.
1 Britannica Source
1. Dred Scott decision: Top Questions
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did the Dred Scott decision affect enslaved people in the United States?
The Dred Scott decision of 1857 declared that enslaved or formerly enslaved persons of African descent could not be U.S. citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court. The Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott, having lived in free territories, was not entitled to his freedom. This decision further entrenched the institution of slavery by stating that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the territories, effectively invalidating the Missouri Compromise. This ruling significantly worsened sectional tensions and contributed to the outbreak of the American Civil War.
1 Britannica Source
1. Dred Scott decision: Top Questions
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did the Dred Scott case influence the events leading to the Civil War?
The U.S. Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision in 1857 significantly fueled the sectional controversy that led to the Civil War. The Court ruled that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the territories, invalidating the Missouri Compromise. This decision declared that enslaved or formerly enslaved African Americans could not be U.S. citizens and therefore had no right to sue in federal court. The ruling outraged abolitionists and further divided the nation, contributing to the rise of the Republican Party and ultimately the Civil War.
1 Britannica Source
1. Dred Scott decision: Top Questions
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Dred Scott (born c. 1799, Southampton county, Virginia, U.S.—died September 17, 1858, St. Louis, Missouri) was an African American slave at the centre of the U.S. Supreme Court’s pivotal Dred Scott decision of 1857 (Dred Scott v. John F.A. Sandford). The ruling rejected Scott’s plea for emancipation—which he based on his temporary residence in a free state and territory, in which slavery was prohibited—and struck down the Missouri Compromise (1820), thereby making slavery legal in all U.S. territories.

Life as a slave

Dred Scott was born a slave in Southampton county, Virginia, around 1799. His original owner, Peter Blow, moved to Alabama in 1818 and then relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1830, taking with him his property—including his slaves—as he moved west. Blow died in 1832, and Dr. John Emerson, an army surgeon, purchased Scott.

From December 1, 1833, until May 4, 1836, Emerson served as the post physician at Fort Armstrong, Illinois, near the present city of Rock Island. Scott lived with Emerson on the army post. Because Illinois was a free state, Scott could have claimed his freedom during these years. For reasons unknown, however, he did not do so.

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In 1836 Scott accompanied Emerson to the doctor’s new posting at Fort Snelling in the Wisconsin Territory. Although slavery was illegal in the Wisconsin Territory, Scott remained a slave at Fort Snelling from his arrival through his departure in April 1838. During those two years he met and married Harriet Robinson, a slave owned by Major Lawrence Taliaferro, the Indian agent stationed there. Neither Scott nor his wife claimed freedom at this time, and at some point Harriet’s ownership passed into Emerson’s hands. In November 1837 the army transferred Emerson to Fort Jesup in Louisiana, where he met and married Eliza Irene Sanford. Emerson then sent for his slaves, and the Scotts traveled down the Mississippi River to Louisiana, meeting up with Emerson in April. The two passed through free jurisdictions on the voyage, but once again they did not claim their freedom.

When the army sent Emerson to Florida to serve during the Seminole War, he settled his wife and slaves in St. Louis, Missouri. After the fighting ended, Emerson went to the Iowa Territory, but the Scotts remained in St. Louis, where they apparently hired out their services to various people. In December 1843 Emerson suddenly died, leaving his estate—including the Scotts—to his widow. For the next three years the Scotts worked as hired slaves, with the money they earned going to Irene Emerson. Scott offered to purchase his freedom, but Irene Emerson refused to sell him to himself, and in April 1846 he began the legal proceedings that would eventually bring his case to the Supreme Court, which issued the seminal ruling for which he became famous.

Final days as a freedman

Dred Scott did, in fact, get his freedom, but not through the courts. Irene Emerson’s second husband, the abolitionist doctor Calvin Chaffee, now a Massachusetts representative, learned that his wife owned the most famous slave in America just before the court handed down its momentous decision in Scott’s case on March 6, 1857. Defenders of slavery ridiculed the hypocrisy of a man who owned slaves and yet spoke out against slavery. Since at that time a husband controlled his wife’s property, Chaffee immediately transferred ownership of Scott and his family to Taylor Blow in St. Louis; Missouri law allowed only citizens of the state to emancipate slaves there. Irene Emerson Chaffee insisted, however, that she receive the wages the Scotts had earned during the preceding seven years, a sum of $750 that had been tied up because of the court proceedings.

On May 26, 1857, Dred and Harriet Scott appeared in the St. Louis Circuit Court and were formally freed. Scott then took a job as a porter at Barnum’s Hotel in the city and became a celebrity of sorts. Unfortunately, he did not live to enjoy his free status very long. On September 17, 1858, he died of tuberculosis and was buried in St. Louis. Harriet Scott lived until June 1876, long enough to see the Civil War and the Thirteenth Amendment finally abolish slavery in the United States.

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