Dred and Harriet Scott: A Family's Struggle for Freedom

by Gwenyth Swain

Book Overview

A biography for young readers, ages 9 and up, that humanizes the people behind the famous Dred Scott decision, the first legal test of slavery in the United States.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0873514831
• ISBN13: 9780873514835
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Borealis Books
• Length: 102 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 11 to 15 years
• Grade Range: Grades 6 to 10

Customer Reviews

"A FAMILY STRUGGLES FOR FREEDOM"

Gwenyth Swain presses upon readers the inexorable pain of a people slogging through history, moved "for a returnless distance" away from their homes. They were striving toward the goal of Freedom while being slaves to the selfishness of others because of skin color. Dred and Harriet Scott are portrayed as real human beings, not objects to be moved as on a game board in a calculating manner, or according to whim.The author describes their agony when 'slave poor' owners who had more slaves than could be used, either rented them out or sold them for needed cash. The Scotts were forced to send their daughters away for safety during the years, 1857 to 1867, when they lived through five trials.Swain shares a unique insight into the famous "Dred Scott Decision" that burgeoned from this dream for freedom. Support given Dred and Harriet by white lawyers was amazing yet in the end it was a twist of fate, embodied in a conceited, selfish woman that brought them their freedom.This book, "DRED AND HARRIET SCOTT: A FAMILY'S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM" sheds light on the fragile nature of freedom, and the cruel irony that freedoms can be eroded by government edict. REVIEWER MCHAIKU asks 'what better time in history (2004) to read about the TRUE MEANING & VALUE OF FREEDOM?'