 There is speculation  that Chaffee advanced the "Dred Scott" case as a test for slavery.However, contemporary reports have him discover from the "Springfield Argus" that his new wife owned the most famous slave in the world in February 1857, only a month before the Supreme Court handed down the infamous "Dred Scott" decision.Criticized nationwide for apparent hypocrisy, Chaffee immediately arranged for the return of Scott to his original owners, the Blow family, for emancipation.