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Dred Scott biography

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  • PLACE OF DEATH: St. Louis, Missouri
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Dred Scott was an African-American slave who fought for his freedom to the U.S. Supreme Court. He lost the case but advanced the anti-slavery cause.

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Dred Scott was born a slave in 1795 in Southampton County, Virginia. After the death of his original owner, he was sold and spent time as a slave in two free states. Scott attempted to buy his freedom but failed, so in the late 1840s, he filed suit and the case made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857. He lost the case but Scott was emancipated shortly after the decision. He died 1858.

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Slave, social activist. Born in 1795 in Southampton County, Virginia. Born into slavery, Dred Scott made history by launching a legal battle to gain his freedom. After the death of his original owner, he was sold to another man and spent time as a slave in two free states. Scott tried to buy freedom for himself and his family from their heirs of his second owner after his owner's death but failed.

In the late 1840s, Scott filed suit to gain his freedom with help from two St. Louis attorneys. The basis of his case was that he had been taken from Missouri, a slave state, to Illinois, a free state. The case dragged on for years, finally making its way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857. The Supreme Court ruled against him, but the decision served to increase anti-slavery agitation in the North.

Shortly after the ruling, Scott was emancipated. He stayed in St. Louis and found work as a porter in a local hotel. His freedom proved to be short lived; Scott died of tuberculosis on September 17, 1858.

© 2012 A&E Television Networks. All rights reserved.

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