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Dred Scott

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Slave

The Resume

    (1795-September 17, 1858)
    Property of Peter Blow (insert your own joke) until bought by Dr. John Emerson (1830)
    Sued, along with his wife, for their freedom at the St. Louis Circuit Court (1846)
    Appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court - Scott v. Sanford, aka The Dred Scott Case (1856-57)

Why he might be annoying:

    He did not read or write.
    After Dr. Emerson died in 1843 his widow would not grant his freedom, prompting a civil suit.
    He lost his first case for freedom at the St. Louis Circuit Court (1847), but was allowed to appeal.
    Though he had no control where he lived, he based his appeal on the fact he lived with Dr. & Mrs. Emerson for a time in the slave free states of Illinois and Wisconsin.
    He won a second suit in 1850 but was not freed pending appeal by the widow who didn't want to lose 'valuable property.'
    Her brother, John Sanford, took the case to U.S. Federal Court (1853-54) and had the decision reversed, once again making him a slave.
    He took the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court, where in a 7-2 ruling against him result in he and his family staying slaves.
    His case is considered a flashpoint for the start of the Civil War.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was born into slavery.
    He took action through the legal system to free himself and his family.
    His former owner paid for his legal fees.
    As a slave the Supreme Court ruled he was private property (chattel).
    The court cited the Fifth Amendment, claiming he was private property which could not be taken away without due process.
    This meant the courts ruled 'property' had no legal recourse.
    The court system he believed in failed him.
    When Mrs. Emerson remarried her new husband opposed slavery. They returned him to his original owner, who immediately gave him and his family their freedom (1857).
    He died of tuberculosis after just a little more than a year after becoming a free man.
    He inspired the thirteenth amendment, making slavery illegal (1865).

Credit: Scar Tactics


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 10 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 12 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 51 Votes: 50.98% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 22 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 21 Votes: 52.38% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 13 Votes: 15.38% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 46 Votes: 58.70% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 42 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 38 Votes: 34.21% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 259 Votes: 43.63% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 165 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 347 Votes: 44.67% Annoying