• Looking up at the Gateway Arch

    Jefferson

    National Expansion Memorial Missouri

People

Click on the links below to learn more about people who played important roles in the history of St. Louis and Westward Expansion.

African-American Life in St. Louis, 1804-1865
Learn more about African-American life in St. Louis from 1804-1865. Learn about slave sales, slave life in St. Louis, freedom licenses, freedom suits and emancipations. Learn about Dred Scott, who sued for his freedom from slavery in the Old Courthouse. Explore his life story, the long history of the trials, and the aftermath of the Dred Scott Decision.

Lewis and Clark
Our Lewis and Clark pages are in the process of being converted to our new web site. We are adding new links every day but it will be some time before this page is complete. If you need information immediately that is not yet live please contact us.

Our old site:
The Lewis and Clark Journey of Discovery

Our new site:
Lewis and Clark Journey of Discovery

Virginia Minor Virginia Minor sued for her right to vote in the Old Courthouse in the early 1870s. Click on her name above to learn more about the case.

Thomas Jefferson Biography of the third president of the United States.

Did You Know?

Drawing of Dred Scott from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 1857

In 1846, a slave named Dred Scott sued for his freedom at the St. Louis Courthouse. His case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where the verdict set the stage for the Civil War. Today, the Old Courthouse is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Click to learn more about Dred Scott. More...