What are the circumstances surrounding the Dred Scott case?

Dred Scott decision, formally Dred Scott v. John F.A. Sandford, legal case in which the U.S. read more

It was the Dred Scott decision that propelled an obscure Illinois lawyer named Abraham Lincoln to the 1860 Republican presidential nomination, campaigning on a promise to appoint judges who would overturn Dred Scott. It was the Dred Scott decision that split the Democratic Party into Northern and Southern factions, guaranteeing Lincoln’s winning the election. read more

Dred Scott was a Missouri slave. Sold to Army surgeon John Emerson in Saint Louis around 1833, Scott was taken to Illinois, a free State, and on to the free Wisconsin Territory before returning to Missouri. read more

The Dred Scott decision was the culmination of the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford, one of the most controversial events preceding the Civil War. read more