On Wednesday, October 12, 1864 Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court Roger B. Taney of Maryland died in Washington, D. C. Taney was best remembered for delivering the majority opinion in the Dred Scott case of 1857, which declared that Negroes—whether free or slave—had not been United States citizens at the point of the Constitution’s creation and thus were never considered to have citizenship rights. Taney, who had held the chief justice position since 1836, was a strong advocate of states’ rights before the war but had remained loyal to the Union. The chief justice had once been a slaveholder but had manumitted his slaves. Described as possessing “high intelligence and legal acumen,” Taney died the very same day on which Maryland abolished the institution of slavery.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.