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The Dred Scott Decision and its Bitter Legacy

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Broadside protesting re-capture of fugitive slaves, 1854 (Gilder Lehrman Collection, GLC 07887)

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When Dred Scott's case reached the Supreme Court in late 1854, the country was experiencing an unprecedented crisis over slavery. Battles over fugitive slaves and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, which had previously restricted the spread of slavery, now threatened to transform Scott's personal claims into a critical national test.

 
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