Roger Brooke Taney

Born in Maryland, Roger Taney was a lawyer, politician, and the fifth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. During the Court’s hearing of Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) he described African Americans “as so far inferior, that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.” The Court, in a seven-to-two majority, rejected the slave Dred Scott’s appeal for freedom because blacks, free or slave, were “not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word ‘citizens’ in the Constitution.” The Court also rejected Congress’ right to restrict the expansion of slavery into new territories. This made slavery constitutional by supporting the southern opinion that slaves were property and thus beyond the control of Congress. It also nullified the Missouri Compromise, polarized opinions in the North and South, divided the Democratic Party, and radicalized the Republican Party.