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Much has been written about the Dred Scott Decision: the laws, states rights, the Constitution, the Supreme Court, and the effects of the decision on the causes of the Civil War. This book is about Dred Scott, a fictionalized biography told in the first person. Instead of learning about the Dred Scott Decision, readers learn about the slave named Dred Scott and his family. The first-person narra... More

Much has been written about the Dred Scott Decision: the laws, states rights, the Constitution, the Supreme Court, and the effects of the decision on the causes of the Civil War. This book is about Dred Scott, a fictionalized biography told in the first person. Instead of learning about the Dred Scott Decision, readers learn about the slave named Dred Scott and his family. The first-person narrative is effective in drawing the reader into the story of one man, a slave, who had no rights under the Constitution of the United States. Author Shelia P. Moses uses dialect sparingly, which makes the narrative very readable for readers at all skill levels. The story isn't just another biography. Rather, it is a personalized and emotional journey. Moses is the award-winning author of The Legend of Buddy Bush, a 2004 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature. In addition to the fictional memoir, she includes a forward by John A. Madison, Jr., a great-grandson of Dred Scott. She also provides a brief summary of the impact of the Dred Scott Decision by Lisa Cozzens, a timeline, and a bibliography. Bonnie Christensen's black and white woodcuts add depth to the story and emphasize the heaviness and weights of being a slave. This is an excellent supplement to texts about slavery and the events that led to the Civil War. It is important to remember that the laws, court decisions, and ultimately, the outcome of the Civil War affected real people's lives. It is important to remember that history isn't just a bunch of dates in a textbook. Dred Scott was not a product of a court decision. He was a slave with ideas, emotions, and a desire to be a free man.

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