page_title: History of St. Louis
section_title: Slavery, immigration and nativism
hierarchical_section_title: History of St. Louis / Expansion, growth, and the Civil War: 1804–1865 / Slavery, immigration and nativism
caption_attribution_description: Dred Scott (1795 – 1858), plaintiff in the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) case at the Supreme Court of the United States, commissioned by a "group of Negro citizens" and presented to the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, in 1888.[1][2]
context_page_description: The history of St. Louis, Missouri began with the settlement of the St. Louis area by Native American mound builders who lived as part of the Mississippian culture from the 9th century to the 15th century, followed by other migrating tribal groups. Starting in the late 17th century, French explorers arrived. Spain took over in 1763 and a trading company led by Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau established the settlement of St. Louis in February 1764. It attracted French settlers leaving Illinois after their defeat in the Seven Years' War. The city grew in population due to its location as a trading post on the Mississippi River, as the western fur trade was lucrative. The city played a small role in the American Revolutionary War and became part of the U.S. through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
  With its connection through the Ohio River to the east, the Mississippi to the south and north, and the Missouri to the west, St. Louis was ideally located to become the main base of interregional trade. In the 1840s, it became a destination for massive immigration by Irish and Germans. Some native-born Americans reacted with fear to the newcomers, adopting nativist sentiments.
context_section_description: Missouri was admitted as a slave state. During the 1840s, the number of slaves increased but their percentage relative to the population declined; during the 1850s, both the number and percentage declined. Roughly 3,200 free blacks and slaves lived in St. Louis in 1850, working as domestic servants, artisans, crew on the riverboats and stevedores.
  Some slaves were allowed to earn wages, and some were able to save money to purchase their freedom or that of relatives. Others were manumitted, which occurred relatively more frequently in St. Louis than in the surrounding rural areas. Still others attempted to escape via the Underground Railroad or attempted to gain their freedom through freedom suits. The first freedom suit in St. Louis was filed by Marguerite Scypion in 1805. More than 300 suits were filed in St. Louis before the Civil War. Among the most famous was that of Dred Scott and his wife Harriet, in a case heard at the Old Courthouse. The suit was based on their having traveled and lived with their master in free states. Although the state ruled in his favor, an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court resulted in an 1857 ruling against them.  The Court ruled that slaves could not be counted as citizens, overturning the basis of the Missouri Compromise and inflaming national debate about slavery.
  During the economic expansion of the 1830s, Irish and German immigration to St. Louis increased substantially. In particular, the writings of Gottfried Duden encouraged German immigration. Many Irish were motivated by the Irish potato famine of 1845–1846 and the failed Irish uprising of 1848. Other Irish settlers came because of its reputation as a Catholic city.
  Nativist sentiment increased in St. Louis during the late 1840s, leading to mob attacks and riots in 1844, 1849, and 1852. The 1844 riots derived from popular outrage and resentment toward human dissection, which was then taking place at the Saint Louis University Medical College. The discovery of human remains prompted rumors of grave robbing, and a mob of more than 3,000 residents attacked the medical college, destroying most of its interior facilities. The worst nativist riot in St. Louis took place in 1854. The local militia was used to end the fighting. 10 people were killed, 33 wounded, and 93 buildings were damaged. Regulations on elections prevented fighting in future elections in 1856 and 1858.
caption: Dred Scott, whose famous case to gain his freedom began as a lawsuit filed in St. Louis in 1846
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