The Old St. Louis County Courthouse was built between 1839 and 1862 as a combination federal and state courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri. It was Missouri’s tallest habitable building from 1864 to 1894, and is now part of “Gateway Arch National Park” and operated by the National Park Service for historical exhibits and events. (Wikipedia) Probably the most significant case that ever came before the court was brought by Dred Scott who sued for his freedom in April 1846.
While I’ve heard of the Dred Scott case but knew nothing about it, I found the following information informative, and I thought you might like it too. The following paragraph covers the facts of the case and is from a website I found.
“Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri. From 1833 to 1843, he resided in Illinois (a free state) and in the Louisiana Territory, where slavery was forbidden by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. After returning to Missouri, Scott filed suit in Missouri court for his freedom, claiming that his residence in free territory made him a free man. After losing, Scott brought a new suit in federal court. Scott’s master maintained that no “negro” or descendant of slaves could be a citizen in the sense of Article III of the Constitution.”
During this time before the Civil War, each state could decide if it was going to be a free or slave-holding state. The Missouri Compromise was an important law, and here’s what it said (from AI):
- Passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President James Monroe in 1820, the Missouri Compromise was a pivotal legislative package designed to maintain the balance of power between free and slave-holding states. It admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state at the same time..
- This kept the balance of power in the U.S. Senate perfectly equal, with 12 states on each side.
- The compromise also established a geographical boundary for the future expansion of slavery.
the case through the courts
“Once free, always free” was an historic legal doctrine established in Missouri courts in 1824. It stated that any enslaved person who was taken into a free state or territory automatically became free and that status could not be revoked if they returned to a slave state.
Born in Virginia in 1833 and living as a slave, when he was around 30 years old, Scott was sold to Dr. Emerson, an army surgeon. Scott lived with Dr. Emerson on an army post in Illinois (which was a free state) and in the free Wisconsin Territory (which later became the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota). He resided in these free jurisdictions for roughly 4 years during the 1830s while accompanying Dr. Emerson as he moved from fort to fort. When Dred married Harriet, Dr. Emerson bought her so the couple could be together.
After Dr. Emerson’s death in 1843, Dred and Harriet Scott were left to Emerson’s widow, Irene Emerson. Irene’s family hired the Scotts out and kept all the wages they earned. Three years later, the Scotts filed separate petitions for their freedom based on the established doctrine of “once free always free.” Since the Scotts had been enslaved in areas slavery was illegal, technically they should be free. Their situation was not unusual: over 300 enslaved people sued for their freedom at the Old Courthouse in St. Louis. [This history came from a U.S. National Park website about this case.]
In St. Louis, like other cities, enslaved workers frequently had access to information. In this case, the Scotts learned that they could sue for their freedom in the courts. Perhaps urged on by Harriet Scott’s pastor, the couple talked with lawyer Francis Murdoch, who believed they had an ironclad case.
Their first trial began on June 30, 1847. Samuel Russell testified that they had been held as slaves in free territory. But . . . his testimony was ruled as hearsay because his wife, not he, had hired the Scotts from Irene Emerson.
Fortunately, he granted the couple the right to another trial. They waited and worked for 2.5 years before their next day in court.
Next is trial 2 on January 12, 1850. The Scotts’ lawyers presented witnesses and depositions proving that they had been enslaved while living in free territory. The jury granted the Scotts their freedom. But . . . Mrs. Emerson appealed to Missouri’s Supreme Court [in our Old Courthouse].
Originally the Scotts filed separate suits that were heard together. Moving forward, the case was in Dred’s name only, while Harriet remained actively involved. The Missouri Supreme Court overturned years of precedent by ruling that the state was no obligated to abide by rules in other states, specifically free states.
Trial 3 began on March 22, 1852.
Scott now appealed to the federal courts, and trial 4 started on May 15, 1854.
Between 1819 and 1860, the court met in a room on the lower level of the U.S. Capitol. This is what it looked like in 2008.
Trial 5 before the U.S. Supreme Court was held on February 11-14, 1856. Scott filed a suit against John F.A. Sanford, Mrs. Emerson’s brother and executor of Dr. Emerson’s estate. The case was delayed for political reasons.
So why did they want to wait? AI information tells us: “The Supreme Court waited to release the landmark Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling until two days after James Buchanan’s inauguration so the new president could endorse the decision in his inaugural address. Both Buchanan and the justices believed that if a newly inaugurated, Northern-born president publicly vouched for the ruling, the American public would be more likely to accept the decision and quell the escalating sectional crisis over slavery. He is widely ranked by historians as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history.”
By now, Dred and Harriet Scott’s fight for freedom had made national headlines. The cases have been going on for 11 years.
Seven of the nine justices agreed Dred Scott should remain enslaved, but Taney’s decision went further.
- Taney ruled that Dred Scott, and all other African Americans, were not citizens of the United States and so had no standing to sue in court.
- In addition, Taney declared that Scott had never been free because enslaved persons were property, and the government could not take property away from those who claimed it.
- The Missouri Compromise was overturned.
- The nation’s highest court erred in thinking their decision settled the issue. Instead it ignited a flame that would lead to civil war.
Benjamin Curtis served on the Supreme Court from 1851 to 1857, and was the first justice to have a formal law degree. He resigned from the court on September 30, 1857, in exasperation over the handling of the Dred Scott decision. He is the only justice ever to resign from the court over a matter of principle.
In his blistering dissent, Curtis argued that free African Americans were indeed citizens of the United States and that Congress had the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories. (Wikipedia) After returning to private practice in Boston, Curtis argued over 50 cases before the Supreme Court. Most notably, he served as the chief defense counsel for President Andrew Johnson during his 1868 impeachment trial, playing a crucial role in his acquittal.
Roger Taney was the 5th Chief Justice of the U.S. appointed by President Andrew Jackson in 1836. He served until his death in 1864, while the Civil War was still being fought.
historical impact
“The Court struck down the Missouri Compromise (the law since 1820), ruling that the federal government could not stop the expansion of slavery into western territories.” AI
“The decision inflamed tensions between the North and South, severely dividing the nation and pushing it closer to the American Civil War. The ruling was eventually nullified by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments after the war.” AI.
life after the court’s decision for the Dred Scott family
Two months after the decision, John Sanford died. Claims to ownership of the Scotts reverted to the Mrs. Emerson and her new husband, Calvin Chaffee, who was a a Congressman. As an abolitionist, he wanted to distance himself form the Scotts. Instead of a bill of sale, which would acknowledge Chaffee’s ownership, a Quit Claim deed was filed, releasing the Scotts to the the Blow family, Dred’s original enslavers. They had remained friends with the Scotts during the 11 years of litigation and had provided financial help and moral support during their trials.
On May 26, 1857, Taylor Blow put up the bonds necessary in St. Louis to free the entire Scott family. The family was free!
The courts could require enslaved persons who sued for their freedom to work while their case was pending. Instead of being hired out by Mrs Emerson, the sheriff found employment for the Scotts. He also retained their earnings in his office safe until the final verdict.
Dred worked as a janitor for some of the city’s law firms, as well as some other jobs. Harriet continued the backbreaking and dangerous work of a laundress.
Since the Supreme Court decision went against Scott, Irene Emerson Chaffee could legally claim those wages. Her lawyers came into the court the day after the Scotts received their freedom to receive the money on her behalf.
The Scotts were left with no financial means to start their new life in freedom.
Dred enjoyed just a little over a year as a free man; he died of tuberculosis on September 17, 1858. After his death, Harriet continued working as a laundress and living with her daughter.
Their daughter, Lizzie, married John Madison, but they both died young. Their two sons were raised by Aunt Lizzie, who never married. Some of Dred and Harriet Scott’s descendants still live in St. Louis and often come to the Old Courthouse to visit and talk with the staff.
Dred never knew what his case meant to the United States, but Harriet lived through the Civil War and saw the beginnings of change.
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