Dred Scott Case Lesson Plan

The Dred Scott decision to this day remains known as the worst decision made in Supreme Court history. This lesson plan will help students to understand the struggles enslaved persons faced fighting for their freedom in a legal system that worked against them by analyzing the story of Dred and Harriet’s own legal battle. A bonus lesson plan for November delves further in the role of Roswell Field, one of the key attorney’s on the case, who lived in the historic Field family home. Plus students can enjoy a short video from the Old Courthouse where two of the cases took place.

Show-Me Standards
Communication Arts:
3. Reading and evaluating nonfiction works and material (such as biographies, newspapers, technical
manuals)
4. Writing formally (such as reports, narratives, essays) and informally (such as outlines, notes)

Social Studies:
2. Continuity and change in the history of Missouri, the United States and the world
6. Relationships of the individual and groups to institutions and cultural traditions

Objectives:
1. To educate students on an important court case in America’s history, and Dred Scott, an important
American figure.
2. To help students understand the struggle of an enslaved person fighting for their freedom and the
politics that came with the reading.
3. To improve student’s ability to read and analyze a document and be able to infer and answer
questions.
4. To give students an idea of how divided the country was over the issue of slavery.

Activity
Read and take notes over the “Brief History of Dred and Harriet Scott and the Court’s Decision” then answer the related questions. Following the reading activity is an optional activity where students can write a letter to a Supreme Court Justice of their choice.

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