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Dred Scott (1800? – 1858)

Portrait of Dred Scott
[Reissue, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, June 27, 1857, courtesy of National Park Service, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial]

Dred Scott's name has been a source of disagreement among historians. Some scholars have argued that probate records suggest that Dred Scott's real name may have been “Sam.” Most modern scholars maintain that Dred Scott and Sam, a slave named on Peter Blow’s list of assets filed in St. Louis Probate Court, were two different people. (See: Ehrlich, Walter. They Have No Rights: Dred Scott's Struggle for Freedom. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1979, pp. 12-15. [REF 552 Eh89])

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