Dred Scott's advocate

by Kenneth C. Kaufman

Told through the eyes of the brilliant attorney and plaintiff who participated in this historic courtroom drama, this story re-creates the suspense of more than a decade of litigation, as Dred Scott maneuvered his way through an often hostile American judicial system in the hope of achieving his freedom. Field took the case from Missouri all the way to the United States Supreme Court, whose decision against Scott set off a national furor, helped elect Abraham Lincoln president, and was a major event contributing to the outbreak of the Civil War. Kaufman vitalizes the often dull official law records and brings to life those who once participated in this famous legal drama. He puts Field and Scott at center stage and convincingly shows why Field is remembered not for his professional services to prominent St. Louis landowners who paid him well, but for helping the untutored black slave who paid him nothing. Little has been known about this noteworthy Missourian, but the author's skillful