Dred Scott's Daughters: Nineteenth Century Urban Girls at the Intersection of Race and Patriarchy

Abstract

Children's stories have too often been ignored by history, especially those of children or youths growing up at the intersections of race, gender and class. This article inspects the ways in which an individual's status as a minor in nineteenth century America interacted with institutions of slavery and indenture, and burdens of poverty and illegitimacy. The article uses the story of Frederick Douglass' childhood and youth as a springboard to explore the lives of nineteenth century urban boys in slavery and sevitude. As the young Douglass noted, "all boys are bound to someone" although some were "slaves for life." The article then focuses on the similar but distinctive challenges faced by urban girls in slavery. Drawing upon the stories of Eliza and Lizzie Scott, it shows how their stories were subsumed in that of their famous father in the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford. It explores the special challenges faced by black urban girls, and the special courage of those girls who escaped to free territory. The article closes by arguing that children's experiences of slavery and servitude can contribute to the ongoing task of interpreting the meaning of "liberty" under the Fourteenth Amendment.