Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Taney's tainted legacy - baltimoresun.com

Taney's tainted legacy - baltimoresun.com

I resent these people who don't know anything about Justice Taney wanting to remove tributes to him. The man was more than one case. The case was wrongly decided and his opinion was offensive, but not for the all of the same reasons that these people think it was. Robert Bork draws a good comparison between Scott, Lochner, and Roe creating Constitutionals rights (slavery, contract, and abortion) out of the Constitution that was silent on the issues.

On the personal level, Taney freed his own slaves and provided them with pensions. He condemned the institution of slavery calling it 'a blot on our national character.' These are not the actions or words of a pro-slavery man.