Do the lawyers for the plaintiff, Dred Scott, have an opening statement?
DAVID HALL: Yes, Your Honor. (Moves to stand in front of jury.) Members of the jury, this is an easy case to decide. Dred Scott has been a slave all of his life. His master, Dr. John Emerson, took him to Fort Armstrong in the state of Illinois and kept him as a slave. As all of you know, the laws of Illinois do not allow slavery. Later, Emerson took Dred Scott to Fort Snelling in Wisconsin Territory and, according to the Missouri Compromise, slavery is not allowed there. Even after Emerson left Fort Snelling, he kept Dred Scott as a slave, hiring him out to others in Wisconsin Territory and back in St. Louis. Members of the jury, we say that Dred Scott became a free man when taken to Illinois and Wisconsin Territory. Just because he was brought back to the state of Missouri, where slavery is allowed does not make him a slave again. The laws of Illinois, the nation, and even cases just like this one heard before in Missouri, all say that Dred Scott should be free. Not only Dred himself
