CHIEF JUSTICE ROGER B. TANEY - AUTOGRAPH DOCUMENT SIGNED THREE TIMES 07/16/1813 - HFSID 156429

ROGER B. TANEY
Roger B. Taney signed this legal document in 1816, 20 years before he was named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Autograph document signed "Roger Brooke Taney" in body of letter and"R.B. Taney Atty for Deft" and, on docket "Mr Ritchie/file this/R.B. Taney" onverso.1 page, 7¼x8¾, docketed on verso. Docketed July 16, 1813. Concerning the case of Daniel Myers against David Arnold. Taney (1777-1864, born in Calvert County, Maryland) was educated privately before attending Dickinson College, where he graduated first in his class. Taney apprenticed with an Annapolis lawyer for three years and was admitted to the bar in 1799 when he was 22. After two years as a Federalist member of the Maryland House of Delegates, he began his legal career in earnest in Frederick, Maryland. There, he met Anne Phoebe Charlton Key, the sister of Francis Scott Key, whom he married in January of 1806. Taney, who became one of Maryland's leading lawyers, became an avid supporter of Andrew Jackson after the Federalist Party faded away. In 1831, Jackson appointed Taney as both Attorney General (1831-1833) and acting Secretary of War before naming him Secretary of the Treasury on Sept. 23, 1833. Taney served until June 24, 1834, when his appointment was rejected by the United States Senate. In 1836, after a political change in the makeup of the Senate, Jackson appointed Taney as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Taney served until his death in 1864. He is chiefly remembered for his decision in the Dred Scott case (1857),which stated that slaves were not citizens and that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in territories. Light show through of writing. Lightly shaded. Lower left corner torn off. Verso shows type transference from some contemporary page (not present) that had pressed on it, but does not touch signature on verso. Otherwise in fine condition.