Dred Scott: The Inside Story

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Gold Medal for historical nonfiction, 2019 African American Historical and Genealogical Society Book Awards! Much has been written about Dred Scott, the historic Supreme Court ruling that did so much to elect Abraham Lincoln and bring on the Civil War. Yet many mysteries have remained. Why did Dred Scott’s attorneys sue a New York City businessman, who had no apparent claim to holding him in slavery? Why did the businessman claim in court that he owned the Scott family? Was the case a coincidence, or a pro-slavery set-up that backfired? Did Chief Justice Taney secretly tip off President-elect Buchanan as to the outcome?Dred Scott: The Inside Story answers these questions once and for all. Relying upon 19th century newspaper articles, presidential archives, and a key unpublished autobiography of an eyewitness to the most critical event, it rewrites the history of this pivotal court case. The case was based on collusion, and engineered by powerful pro-slavery attorney Reverdy Johnson. The New York City businessman posed as the Scott family’s owner to protect the real slaveholder: his sister Irene. Irene did not want to be named as the slaveholder, because she had married a prominent anti-slavery congressman. Abolitionists who accused the Chief Justice of whispering a tip in President Buchanan’s ear had no idea how right they were. But Buchanan didn’t need a whispered tip, members of the Supreme Court had secretly written him to disclose the ruling, and he had successfully lobbied one of them into changing his vote.Imagine a reality in which people can own other people, or a person can buy himself, and become free. A reality where slaves can sue their masters, and have a jury decide whether they are really free. Into this not-alternate reality came a remarkable cast of Americans: Dred and Harriet Scott - the slaves whose suit for freedom sparked a battle in the Supreme Court and in the White House. John F. A. Sanford - the mountain man turned New York millionaire, who agreed to pose as the Scott's owner. Rep. Calvin Chaffee - the prominent Massachusetts abolitionist, who was shocked to discover that he and his wife owned slaves. Roger Taney - Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who tried to preserve the Union by protecting slavery, and instead brought on the Civil War and slavery's abolition. Abraham Lincoln - the failed frontier politician who awoke one morning to realize that Taney and Buchanan had given him the roadmap to the White House. David T. Hardy, attorney and N.Y. Times best-selling author, explores the side of Dred Scott not explored in the history books, a side that involved mistakes, trickery, and skulduggery at the highest levels.

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