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Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)

Dred Scott Decision

Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
Black History and Blacks in U.S. History


Dred Scott Decision
Print Dred Scott Decision Reading Comprehension


Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 7 to 9
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.2

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    non-slave, ruling, eligibility, brink, void, dealt, inferior, status, citizenship, framers, federal, favor, widow, classification, tension, thirteenth
     content words:    Supreme Court, United States, Civil War, Dred Scott, Harriet Robinson, Circuit Court, State Supreme Court, John Sanford, Missouri Compromise, When Dred


Dred Scott Decision
By Mary L. Bushong
  

1     What happens when a slave sues for his freedom, and it goes to the Supreme Court of the United States? You have the recipe for a decision which not only set the country on its ear, but helped set the stage for the Civil War.
 
2     Dred Scott was born in Virginia as a slave in 1799. His owners, the Blow family, moved west to Missouri in 1830. After arriving in St. Louis, they sold Dred to an army doctor stationed just south of that city.
 
3     Over the next 12 years, he accompanied Dr. Emerson to the Illinois and Wisconsin territories, both non-slave areas. Dred even married Harriet Robinson, another slave, but did not attempt to stay behind when his master was ready to move back to Missouri in 1842.
 
4     The next year the doctor died, and his widow hired Dred and his family out to work for other people. After three years of this life, the Scotts attempted to sue for their freedom.
 
5     The Circuit Court of Missouri ruled in Mrs. Emerson's favor the first time, but Dred appealed and won the second suit. Mrs. Emerson appealed to the State Supreme Court, which overturned that decision. Then she turned Dred over to her brother, John Sanford.

Paragraphs 6 to 11:
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Black History and Blacks in U.S. History
             Black History and Blacks in U.S. History


A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)

             A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)



More Lessons
             High School Reading Comprehensions and High School Reading Lessons


United States
             United States


    American Government  
 
    Black History and Blacks in U.S. History  
 
    Children in History  
 
    Government Careers  
 
    Hispanic Heritage  
 
    How Can I Help?  
 
 
    Immigration  
 
    National Parks and Monuments  
 
    Native Americans  
 
    Presidents of the United States  
 
    Women's History  
 


United States History
    A Nation Divided
(1840-1861)
 
 
    A New Nation
(1776-1830)
 
 
    After the Civil War
(1865-1870)
 
 
    American Revolution  
 
    Cold War
(1947-1991)
 
 
    Colonial America (1492-1776)  
 
    Lewis and Clark
(1804-1806)
 
 
    Pearl Harbor  
 
    Spanish American War (1898)  
 
    The 1890's  
 
    The 1900's  
 
    The 1910's  
 
    The 1920's  
 
    The 1930's  
 
 
    The 1940's  
 
    The 1950's  
 
    The 1960's  
 
    The 1970's  
 
    The 1980's  
 
    The 1990's  
 
    The 2000's  
 
    The Civil War
(1861-1865)
 
 
    The Great Depression
(1929-1945)
 
 
    The United States Grows
(1865-1900)
 
 
    The War of 1812  
 
    Wild, Wild West  
 
    World War I
(1914-1918)
 
 
    World War II  
 


50 States

             Fifty States Theme Unit


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      Document Based Activities



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