DRED AND HARRIET SCOTT

Most Americans have heard of Dred Scott, although I’m afraid that many don’t know the story. Scott and his wife Harriet were enslaved people who had lived in St. Louis when Missouri was a slave state. Their owner moved them for some years to Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory, where slavery was not recognized. Upon their return here they sued for their freedom. It became known as the Dred Scott Case. Its long, complex process resulted in one of the most horrifying decisions in the history of our Supreme Court (although there are modern competitors). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dred_Scott. This statue stands before the local courthouse where the litigation began.