Did You Know? The Dred Scott Decision

In 1846, Dred Scott and his wife Harriet sued for their freedom in St. Louis, arguing that their time in free states had legally freed them. The case reached the US Supreme Court, where Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled against them, stating African Americans could not sue in federal courts. This decision overturned the Missouri Compromise and was widely criticized. Dred and Harriet remained enslaved until 1857, when they were freed. Dred died in 1858, while Harriet lived to see the abolition of slavery with the 13th Amendment.

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