Mrs. Dred Scott

By Lea Vandervelde,

Book cover of Mrs. Dred Scott: A Life on Slavery's Frontier

Book description

Among the most infamous U.S. Supreme Court decisions is Dred Scott v. Sandford . Despite the case's signal importance as a turning point in America's history, the lives of the slave litigants have receded to the margins of the record, as conventional accounts have focused on the case's judges and…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Mrs. Dred Scott as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Lea VanderVelde’s biography of Mrs. Dred Scott captures the environments in which Harriet Scott lived her life and filed her suit for freedom in 1846 (it took 11 years before the Scotts’ legal case was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court). Harriet Scott filed separately from her husband because she believed she could establish her freedom, thereby ensuring the freedom of her two daughters, whose condition followed that of the mother. An illiterate enslaved woman, Harriet Scott left virtually no documents. VanderVelde provides rich context in which to situate and explain Scott’s life and freedom struggle, vividly recreating her world.…

From Alison's list on biographies of Black women.

Want books like Mrs. Dred Scott?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Mrs. Dred Scott.

Browse books like Mrs. Dred Scott

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in slaves, Slavery, and the Supreme Court?

Slaves 107 books
Slavery 302 books