Roger B Taney
Jeremy Sartin, Period 2, 3-21-16
Who was he?
Roger B Taney was born March 17, 1777 and died October 12, 1864 at the age of 87. He was a father of seven with his wife Anne Phoebe Charlton Key. He is also the son of Monica (Brooke) and Michael Taney.
Early Life
Taney was born on a plantation with slaves, but never showed interest in the family farm. After around 10 years of private tutoring, Taney entered Dickinson College at the ago of 15 where he graduated with honors. After that he started reading law and he passed the bar, becoming one the the most promising young lawyers in the country
Roger Taney as a Justice
Taney as the Attorney General
Roger B Taney
Early Career
Taney was a lawyer for 15 years out of college, as he served as a prosecutor. However he decided he didn't want to be a lawyer, and that he wanted to be a politician, so he ran for Maryland state senate and won. He then was elected Attorney General of Maryland in 1827, but resigned in 1831, he served as United States Secretary of War, and then accepted President Jackson's nomination as Attorney General of the United States.
Supreme Court
Taney replaced prominent Supreme Court chief justice, John Marshall. Taney served 28 years, from 1836-1864, on the bench. Taney resided over 100's of cases, as he was once of the first people to really test the constitution.
The Dred Scott Decison
In 1857, near the end of his career, Taney saw one of the greatest cases to ever hit the Supreme Court, Dred Scott v. Sanford. After a long review, Taney ultimately decided that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and slaves were actually property of their masters in slaves holding states. This sparked one of the greatest internal conflicts the United States has ever seen, the Civil War
Summary Slide
Roger B Taney was an intelligent man who accomplished many things in his life. Throughout his career he made big decisions whether it was as attorney general or as a supreme court justice. Ultimately he made one of the biggest decisions in american history and sparked a civil war.
Works Cited
"Roger B Taney." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.