June Carter Cash
Musical Monikers
Madonna
Justin Bieber
My Ghost Story
I Survived
Babe Ruth
Johnny Cash
Georgia O'Keefe
I Survived
1 photo
Quick Facts
- NAME: Dred Scott
- OCCUPATION: Civil Rights Activist
- BIRTH DATE: c. 1795
- DEATH DATE: September 17, 1858
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Southampton County, Virginia
- PLACE OF DEATH: St. Louis, Missouri
- AKA: Sam Scott
- Full Name: Dred Scott
Best Known For
Dred Scott was a slave and social activist who served several masters before suing for his freedom. His case made it to the Supreme Court (Dred Scott v. Sandford) prior to the American Civil War.
Quiz
Think you know about Biography?
Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.
Play NowDred Scott. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 09:09, May 24, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/dred-scott-9477240.
Dred Scott. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/dred-scott-9477240 [Accessed 24 May 2013].
"Dred Scott." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 24 2013, 09:09 http://www.biography.com/people/dred-scott-9477240.
"Dred Scott," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/dred-scott-9477240 [accessed May 24, 2013].
"Dred Scott," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/dred-scott-9477240 (accessed May 24, 2013).
Dred Scott [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 24] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/dred-scott-9477240.
Dred Scott, http://www.biography.com/people/dred-scott-9477240 (last visited May 24, 2013).
Dred Scott. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/dred-scott-9477240. Accessed May 24, 2013.
Too controversial to retain the Scotts as slaves after the trial, Mrs. Emerson remarried and returned Dred Scott and his family to the Blows who granted them their freedom in May 1857. That same month, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech discussing the Dred Scott decision on the anniversary of the American Abolition Society.
Eventually, the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution overrode this Supreme Court ruling.
Death and Legacy
Dred Scott and his family stayed in St. Louis after his emancipation, and he found work as a porter in a local hotel. But after only a little more than a year of true freedom, Scott died from tuberculosis on September 17, 1858.
Dred Scott is buried in the Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis (Harriet survived him by 18 years and is buried in Hillsdale, Missouri). Putting pennies (displaying the face of President Lincoln) on Scott's headstone has become a local tradition over the decades. The commemorative marker next to the headstone reads: "In Memory Of A Simple Man Who Wanted To Be Free."
In 1997, Dred Scott and his wife Harriet were admitted to the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
© 2013 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.
profile name: Dred Scott profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Famous Black Activists
View groupAfrican-Americans have a long history of activism in America, from fighting for the right to vote to pushing for integrated public spaces. Activists like Stokely Carmichael organized freedom rides, James Meredith fought to integrate blacks and whites at the University of Mississippi, and Rosa Parks instigated the Montgomery Bus Boycott. These protests were often legal and nonviolent, and made a powerful impact on civil rights in the United States. With the help of activists like these—and many others—the country slowly worked to acknowledge the basic rights and contributions of African-Americans. Activists outisde of the U.S. include Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, who have fought against apartheid in South Africa. Learn more about the many black activists who fought against the odds in order to achieve equality.
Famous Black Activists 133 people in this group
-
Famous Civil Rights Activists
View group"Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love." Stated by legendary civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., these words represent a basic human philosophy to which black history's greatest leaders have passionately subscribed. Learn more about the world's most revered civil rights activists, known for their fight against social injustices and lasting impact on the lives of black citizens, including Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Nelson Mandela, Nina Simone, Mary McLeod Bethune, Lena Horne, Marva Collins, Rosa Parks, W.E.B. Du Bois, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
Famous Civil Rights Activists 156 people in this group
-
Famous Activists
View groupBrowse notable activists such as Pink, Quincy Jones, and Robert Kennedy.
Famous Activists 482 people in this group
