Name the Supreme Court Chief Justice who handed down the decision in the Dred Scott Case?

Name the Supreme Court Chief Justice who handed down the decision in the Dred Scott Case?

• A. Roger Taney
• B. John Marshall
• C. Earl Warren
• D. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Answer: (A)

Roger B. Taney is the Chief Justice who handed down the Dred Scott decision. Taney led the Court from 1836 to 1864, and in 1857 he authored the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which stated that African Americans could not be citizens and that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in the territories. This ruling intensified national tensions over slavery and helped push the country toward the Civil War. For contrast, John Marshall served as Chief Justice earlier and shaped early constitutional authority, while Earl Warren and Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. were from later eras and did not author this case.

Roger B. Taney is the Chief Justice who handed down the Dred Scott decision. Taney led the Court from 1836 to 1864, and in 1857 he authored the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which stated that African Americans could not be citizens and that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in the territories. This ruling intensified national tensions over slavery and helped push the country toward the Civil War. For contrast, John Marshall served as Chief Justice earlier and shaped early constitutional authority, while Earl Warren and Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. were from later eras and did not author this case.