Roger B. Taney (1777 – 1864) was the fifth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from 1836 until his death. He is best known for delivering the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), ruling that African Americans could not be U.S. citizens and that Congress had no authority to regulate slavery in U.S. territories. This decision fueled tensions leading to the Civil War.
Born into a wealthy slave-owning Maryland family, Taney became a lawyer and served as U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of the Treasury under Andrew Jackson. A strong supporter of states' rights, he was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1836, where he presided over cases that expanded state authority while maintaining federal oversight.
Although he personally freed his slaves, Taney’s rulings reflected his belief that slavery should be resolved gradually. His tenure was marked by deep political division, and by the end of his life, he was widely reviled in the North. He died in 1864, leaving behind a controversial legacy as one of the most polarizing justices in American history.