Scott & Sandford

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The name of this website is derived from the surnames of Dred Scott and Eliza Sandford. In 1857 Dred Scott sued Ms. Sandford for his freedom. He was ultimately denied what was then guaranteed to all citizens of the United States, by the Supreme Court. The primary opinion, written be Chief Justice Roger Taney, suggested that African Americans were never considered citizens under the Constitution, and could "therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States." This was a highly prescient assertion by Justice Taney. While the consequences of this enumeration were devastating to enslaved African Americans, it revealed a significant truth: the founders of the United States did not envision this country with free African American citizens. 

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