The "story" of Dred Scott is a decade-long struggle for freedom that ultimately helped spark the American Civil War.

: In 1846, Dred Scott and his wife, Harriet, filed a lawsuit in the St. Louis Circuit Court for their freedom. Their claim was based on the fact that their enslaver, a U.S. Army surgeon named Dr. John Emerson, had taken them to live in the free state of Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory (where slavery was illegal) before returning to the slave state of Missouri.

: Under the legal principle of "once free, always free," the Scotts argued that their residence in free territory made them legally free. While they won an initial trial in 1850, the decision was overturned by the Missouri Supreme Court.

: The case, known as Dred Scott v. Sandford , reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivered a ruling that stunned the nation:

: Shortly after the ruling, the Scotts were sold back to their original owners, the Blow family, who set them free in May 1857 . Dred Scott lived as a free man for about a year before passing away in 1858. Other Potential Meanings Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) - National Archives

: It declared that the federal government could not prohibit slavery in any U.S. territory, effectively making the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.

: The decision outraged abolitionists and deepened the divide between the North and South, serving as a primary catalyst for the Civil War.