Event box
Suing for Freedom in Early St. Louis In-Person
Dred and Harriet Scott’s suit for freedom, which ended in the infamous 1857 Dred Scott Decision, began right here in St. Louis’s Old Courthouse. But the Scotts were only two of more than 300 people who sued to claim their freedom in early Missouri.
Judge David C. Mason will lecture on the history of these suits and the efforts by the Freedom Suits Memorial Foundation to recover and preserve the stories of these courageous litigants.
In addition to the lecture, a recent acquisition of political speeches by Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in response to the Dred Scott Decision, digital copies of the freedom suits, and related materials from the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections will be on display before and after the lecture. Attendees are also encouraged to visit the traveling exhibition, The Freedom Suits, on view in Olin Library. Refreshments will be served after the lecture.
Schedule of Events
- 5:00 pm – 5:30 pm: Exhibition viewing and items on display
- 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm: Lecture in Olin Library, Room 142
- 6:30 pm – 7:00 pm: Refreshments in the Ginkgo Reading Room and additional viewing time
Free and open to all, registration requested.
- Date:
- Wednesday, February 19, 2025
- Time:
- 5:00pm - 7:00pm
- Time Zone:
- Central Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- Olin Library, Rm. 142
- Campus:
- Danforth Campus
- Audience:
- Community Faculty Graduate Students Library Staff Staff Undergraduate Students