He brought suit for his liberty on the ground that his residence in the free territory made him free.

他提起自由诉讼，理由是他在自由领土上的居住使他获得了自由。

Scott claimed he was free because he had lived in free territory. It was free because Congress -- in the Missouri Compromise of Eighteen Twenty -- made slavery illegal in that area.

斯科特声称他是自由的，因为他曾生活在自由的领土上。那里是自由的，因为在1820年的密苏里州折衷法案中，国会裁定奴隶制在该地区是非法的。