Majority opinion, written by Justice Taney, stated that even if Scott could sue, his sojourn in a free state did not make him free because the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and that Congress did not have the power to keep slavery out of any state. John Brown and his men raid Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Child writes to John Brown and Governor Henry Wise, asking permission to nurse Brown in prison. The Right Way, The Safe Way, Proved by Emancipation in the British West Indies,and Elsewhere Addresses and sends over 1000 copies during the next year. Harriet Jacobs approaches Child to discuss publication of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
Child agrees to edit the work and seeks a publisher.
Jacobs and Child begin a friendship that lasts for the rest of their lives. The Childs spend the winter with friend Lucy Osgood in Medford. Lincoln elected president. Child probably attended a convention for the Indians. The Child's return to wayland.