Taney, Roger Brooke, 1777-1864, American jurist, fifth Chief Justice of the United States (1836-64), b. Calvert co., Md., grad. Dickinson College, 1795.

Early Life

Taney was born of a wealthy slave-owning family of tobacco farmers. He was admitted to the bar in 1799 and as a Federalist served (1799-1800) one term in the Maryland house of delegates. He temporarily broke with the Federalist leadership over the party's opposition to the War of 1812, but he gained control of the Federalists in Maryland and in 1816 was elected to a five-year term in the state senate. Having built up a large practice, he moved (1823) from Frederick to Baltimore.

In 1824 he permanently abandoned the Federalists to support Andrew Jackson. President Jackson appointed (1831) Taney to the post of Attorney General to assist in the struggle with the Bank of the United States. Taney wrote much of Jackson's message vetoing (1832) the act that rechartered the bank, and, when Louis McLane and William J. Duane refused to withdraw federal funds from the bank, Taney was appointed (1833) Secretary of the Treasury and effected the withdrawal.

Chief Justice

The Senate, incensed by Taney's actions as Secretary of the Treasury, refused in 1835 to ratify his nomination as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, but the following year, somewhat changed in membership, the Senate ratified his appointment as Chief Justice. In the Charles River Bridge Case (1837) Taney declared that a state charter of a private business conferred only privileges expressly granted and that any ambiguity must be decided in favor of the state. His opinion outraged conservatives, who were opposed to any modification of the view that charters issued by states are inviolable, a view established by Taney's predecessor, John Marshall, in the Dartmouth College Case (1819).

Taney felt that the police power of a state entitled it to make reasonable regulatory laws even if they appeared to override provisions of the U.S. Constitution; thus, he held that, although Congress alone had the power to regulate interstate commerce, a state might exclude a corporation organized elsewhere. In sustaining fugitive slave laws, however, Taney denied to free states the power of refusing obedience to federal statutes requiring the surrender of escaped slaves.

Taney's support of the slavery laws was most clearly expressed in the Dred Scott Case (1857). Here he held that slaves (and even the free descendants of slaves) were not citizens and might not sue in the federal courts, and that Congress could not forbid slavery in the territories of the United States. Opposition to the second holding was furiously expressed by the Republicans, and when Lincoln became President he considered Taney an arch foe. In the Civil War, Taney in vain ruled against Lincoln's suspension of the writ of habeas corpus (see Merryman, ex parte). There was much antipathy to Taney at his death, but there has been a gradual increase in appreciation of his contributions to constitutional law.

(born March 17, 1777, Calvert county, Md., U.S.—died Oct. 12, 1864, Washington, D.C.) U.S. jurist. A lawyer from 1801, he served in Maryland's legislature before being named state attorney general (1827–31). He was appointed U.S. attorney general in 1831 by Pres. Andrew Jackson and achieved national prominence by opposing the Bank of the United States. In 1833 Jackson nominated him to serve as secretary of the treasury, but his appointment was rejected by the Senate. In 1835 Jackson selected him to serve as associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, and after the death of Chief Justice John Marshall, Jackson sought to have him confirmed as chief justice. Despite powerful resistance led by Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel Webster, Taney was sworn in as chief justice in March 1836. His tenure (1836–64) remains the second longest in the Supreme Court's history. He is remembered principally for the Dred Scott decision (1857), in which he argued that a slave was not a citizen and could not sue in a federal court, that Congress had no power to exclude slavery from the territories, and that blacks could not become citizens. He is also noted for his opinion in Abelman v. Booth (1858), which denied state power to obstruct the processes of the federal courts, and in Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837), which declared that rights not specifically conferred by a charter could not be inferred from the language of the document. Though he considered slavery an evil, he believed its elimination should be brought about gradually and chiefly by the states in which it existed.

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(born March 17, 1777, Calvert county, Md., U.S.—died Oct. 12, 1864, Washington, D.C.) U.S. jurist. A lawyer from 1801, he served in Maryland's legislature before being named state attorney general (1827–31). He was appointed U.S. attorney general in 1831 by Pres. Andrew Jackson and achieved national prominence by opposing the Bank of the United States. In 1833 Jackson nominated him to serve as secretary of the treasury, but his appointment was rejected by the Senate. In 1835 Jackson selected him to serve as associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, and after the death of Chief Justice John Marshall, Jackson sought to have him confirmed as chief justice. Despite powerful resistance led by Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel Webster, Taney was sworn in as chief justice in March 1836. His tenure (1836–64) remains the second longest in the Supreme Court's history. He is remembered principally for the Dred Scott decision (1857), in which he argued that a slave was not a citizen and could not sue in a federal court, that Congress had no power to exclude slavery from the territories, and that blacks could not become citizens. He is also noted for his opinion in Abelman v. Booth (1858), which denied state power to obstruct the processes of the federal courts, and in Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837), which declared that rights not specifically conferred by a charter could not be inferred from the language of the document. Though he considered slavery an evil, he believed its elimination should be brought about gradually and chiefly by the states in which it existed.

Learn more about Taney, Roger B(rooke) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Taney may refer to:

• Taney Parish, a Church of Ireland community in south Dublin, Ireland
• Taney County, Missouri, United States
• USCGC Taney (WHEC-37), a United States Coast Guard cutter
• Roger B. Taney (1777-1864), U.S. Attorney General and Chief Justice