Roger B. Taney

Details

Birth

March 17, 1777 · Calvert County, Maryland

Death

October 12, 1864

Law school

dickinson university; read law (Chase, Jeremiah)

Prior experience

Various legal and public service prior to appointment

Biography

Roger Brooke Taney (1777-1864) served as the fifth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1836 until his death in 1864. Born into a prominent planter family in Calvert County, Maryland, Taney graduated from Dickinson College in 1795 and was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1799. He established a successful law practice and entered politics as a Federalist before switching to the Democratic Party. Taney served as Maryland's Attorney General from 1827 to 1831 and later as U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of the Treasury under President Andrew Jackson, where he played a crucial role in dismantling the Second Bank of the United States. Jackson nominated Taney as Chief Justice in 1835, and despite initial Senate opposition due to his role in the bank controversy, he was confirmed in 1836. Taney generally favored states' rights and a strict interpretation of federal power, often supporting state sovereignty over federal authority. His judicial philosophy emphasized limited federal government and deference to state legislation on matters not explicitly granted to Congress. Taney authored several notable opinions expanding state police powers and limiting federal commercial regulation. Taney's legacy is indelibly marked by his authorship of the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which declared that African Americans could not be U.S. citizens and that Congress lacked authority to prohibit slavery in federal territories. This decision significantly contributed to national tensions preceding the Civil War. During the Civil War, Taney clashed with President Lincoln over executive power, notably in Ex parte Merryman (1861), where he argued that only Congress could suspend habeas corpus. Despite his long tenure and influence on constitutional law regarding federalism and commerce, the Dred Scott decision fundamentally defines his historical legacy.

Notable opinions

• Dred Scott v. Sandford
• Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge