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Dred Scott and the Meaning of Citizenship in the United States

Thursday, September 20, 2018
12:00 AM - 12:00 AM

Location

SSB 1102

Details

More than 170 years ago on the banks of the Mississippi River, an enslaved man named Dred Scott filed a petition in the Saint Louis circuit court to gain his freedom. Over the next decade, the case would find its way to the United States Supreme Court, where a majority of the justices denied Scott’s case on the basis of his race. The ensuing Civil War and ratification of the 14^th amendment to the Constitution would redefine citizenship legally in the United States, yet anecdotally, the idea of American citizenship has been highly contested over the nearly two centuries following Scott’s initial suit. Ian Aebel (SCC History) will explore the evolving meaning and legacy of Dred Scott and his case and how it has impacted our notions of citizenship and democracy in the United States.