Dred Scott was born as a slave in 1795 in Southampton, County Virginia. In 1857 Scott sued for the freedom of his wife, himself, and his two daughters. Dred Scott sued because he and his family had lived with their master Dr. John Emerson in states where slavery was illegal. The case went to the Supreme Court and they voted 7 - 2 against Scott. They decided that any person descended from Africans, free or not, could not become a citizen of the United States. The court also ruled that since the African Americans were not citizens, they did not possess the legal standing to sue. This decision enraged all abolitionists and caused even more controversy between the North and the South. Dred Scott died September 18th, 1858.
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