Roger Brooke Taney (March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the fifth chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. He delivered the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), ruling that African Americans could not be considered U.S. citizens and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the U.S. territories. Prior to joining the U.S. Supreme Court, Taney served as the U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President Andrew Jackson. He was the first Catholic to serve on the Supreme Court.Taney was born into a wealthy, slave-owning family in Calvert County, Maryland. He won election to the Maryland House of Delegates as a member of the Federalist Party but later broke with the party over the War of 1812. After switching to the Democratic-Republican Party, Taney was elected to the Maryland Senate in 1816. He emerged as one of the most prominent attorneys in the state and was appointed as the Attorney General of Maryland in 1827. Taney supported Andrew Jackson's presidential campaigns in 1824 and 1828, and he became a member of Jackson's Democratic Party. After a cabinet shake-up in 1831, President Jackson appointed Taney as his attorney general. Taney became one of the most important members of Jackson's cabinet and played a major role in the Bank War. Beginning in 1833, Taney served as secretary of the treasury under a recess appointment, but his nomination to that position was rejected by the United States Senate.
In 1835, after Democrats took control of the Senate, Jackson appointed Taney to succeed the late John Marshall on the Supreme Court as Chief Justice. He was the first of four Democratic appointments to the office of Chief Justice (followed by Melville Fuller, Harlan F. Stone and Fred Vinson). Taney presided over a jurisprudential shift toward states' rights, but the Taney Court did not reject federal authority to the degree that many of Taney's critics had feared. By the early 1850s, he was widely respected, and some elected officials looked to the Supreme Court to settle the national debate over slavery. Despite emancipating his own slaves and giving pensions to those who were too old to work, Taney supported slavery, was outraged by Northern attacks on the institution, and sought to use his Dred Scott decision to permanently end the slavery debate. His broad ruling deeply angered many Northerners and strengthened the anti-slavery Republican Party; Republican Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election.
After Lincoln's election, Taney sympathized with the seceding Southern states and blamed Lincoln for the war, but he did not resign from the Supreme Court. He strongly disagreed with President Lincoln's broader interpretation of executive power in the American Civil War. In Ex parte Merryman, Taney held that the president could not suspend the writ of habeas corpus. Lincoln retaliated to the ruling by invoking nonacquiescence. Taney later tried to hold George Cadwalader, one of Lincoln's generals, in contempt of court and the Lincoln Administration again invoked nonacquiescence in response. Taney finally relented, saying: "I have exercised all the power which the Constitution and laws confer on me, but that power has been resisted by a force too strong for me to overcome." Taney died in 1864, and Lincoln appointed Salmon P. Chase as his successor. At the time of Taney's death in 1864, he was widely reviled in the North, and Lincoln declined to make a public statement in response to his death. He continues to have a controversial historical reputation, and his Dred Scott ruling is widely considered to be the worst Supreme Court decision ever made.
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Some of their strengths
Roger Taney has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Intense, Imaginative, Caring, Analytical, Innovative, Confident, and Intelligent.
Soulful and Understanding
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Roger Taney is someone who is a soulful, understanding, and conscious person, who combines smarts with a deep talent for creativity and imagination. A person who looks for jobs that tend to reflect their identity.
Soulful and Intuitive
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Roger Taney well know them as someone who can be graceful, romantic, and reserved, like gentle rain.
Organized and Achievement-oriented
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Roger Taney as someone who is organized, goal-oriented, practical, and persevering.
Who is hardworking, intellectual, and easygoing, who loves higher education and learning and sharing ideas with others, and who loves healthy competition.
Dynamic and Imaginative
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Roger Taney is someone who can bring a purifying element to situations, and who is a risk-taker with vision and imagination.
They are also someone who is curious, dynamic, and positive, and who enjoys inspiring and communicating with other people.
Creative and Imaginative
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Roger Taney tends to be someone who is sensitive, imaginative, creative, and somewhat of a dreamer. Who is intuitive and compassionate, and who has a friendly, easygoing, calming and relaxing effect on people and for whom friends and family mean the world.
Some of Roger Taney's challenges
While Roger Taney has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Roger Taney can be Emotional, Callous, Selfish, Indecisive, Unrealistic, Standoffish, and Rebellious.
Indecisive and Unrealistic
One of Roger Taney's key challenges is that they are someone who can come across as indecisive and unrealistic.
Callous and Selfish
Roger Taney is someone who can be standoffish, pessimistic, and ruthless, who can have difficulty concentrating and be impatient, can have difficulty discovering the keys to personal contentment, and who can have a tendency to overwork and hoard wealth and possessions.
Lethargic and Unrealistic
Finally, Roger Taney also can be too soft, lazy and lethargic, and who can have difficulty finding others who share a similarly dreamy outlook on life.
