Who ruled the dred Scott case?

The US Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in defendant John Sanford's favor, returning Dred Scott and his family to slavery. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivered the Opinion of the Court.

Parties

Dred Scott

John Sanford (alleged "owner" of Dred Scott; misspelled as Sandford in court records)

Other Important Individuals

Eliza Irene Sanford (Chaffee) (widow of Dr. Emerson and probable real "owner" of Dred Scott

Dr. Calvin Chaffee (Irene Sanford's second husband; abolitionist and member of Congress, arranged "ownership" of Scott transferred to Taylor Blow for manumission)

Taylor Blow (Son of Dred Scott's original "owner," who provided financial support for Scott's legal case(s) and freed Scott after the case)

Attorneys

Montgomery Blair, Alexander Field and David Hall (for Dred Scott)

Reverdy Johnson, Henry S. Geyer, and Hugh Garland (for John Sanford)

Supreme Court Majority

Roger B. Taney, Chief Justice

James Wayne

John Catron

Peter V. Daniel

Samuel Nelson

Robert Grier

John Campbell

Supreme Court Dissenting

John McLean

Benjamin R. Curtis

Dred Scott was a slave of a U.S. Army surgeon, John Emerson of Missouri, a state that permitted slavery. In 1834, Scott went with Emerson to live in Illinois, which prohibited slavery. They later lived in the Wisconsin Territory, which slavery was forbidden by the Missouri Compromise. In 1838, Scott returned to Missouri with Emerson. Emerson died there in 1843, and three years later Scott sued the surgeon's wife for his freedom.

Scott based his lawsuit on the argument that his former residence in a free state and a free territory-Illinois and Wisconsin-made him a free man. A circuit court ruled in Scott's favor, but the Missouri Supreme Court later reversed the decision. Meanwhile, Scott had become legally regarded as the property of John F.A. Sanford (spelled Sandford in the U.S. Supreme Court records) of New York. At the conclusion of the Supreme Court case, the Blow family, who originally sold Scott to Dr. Emerson, purchased him from Emerson's widow and had him legally emancipated (manumission).

Case Citation:

Dred Scott v. Sanford, 60 US 393 (1857)

For more information, see Related Questions, below.