circa 1830: Dred Scott (1795 - 1858), an African slave who was taken from Missouri, a slave state, in 1834 to live in free states, Illinois and Wisconsin and then back to Missouri. In 1846 Scott sued for his freedom in the Missouri state courts on grounds that his residence in those areas made him a free man. In 1857 Chief Justice of Supreme Court Roger Taney delivered the decision that Scott was a slave, not a citizen, and could not sue in a federal court. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Getty Images

Archive Photos Hulton Archive