Split in Two: The Dred Scott Decision - 1857

Law Professor Lea Vandervelde (University of Iowa) explains the U.S. Supreme Court's 1857 decision, based in-part on the Scott's time in Minnesota, and how the decision split the nation in two prior to the outbreak of war in 1861. Richard Josey (Minnesota Historical Society) focuses on Dred and Harriet Scott's time at Fort Snelling from 1836 to 1840.