III. The Taney Court
1836–1864
Jacksonian democracy meets the slavery crisis. A capable Court remembered for its single catastrophic decision.
John McLean
A perennial presidential aspirant who served 31 years. Best known for his powerful dissent in Dred Scott arguing that Scott was a free man.
Henry Baldwin
A mercurial Pennsylvania jurist known for erratic behavior on and off the bench, including a period of alleged mental instability.
James M. Wayne
A Georgia Unionist who remained on the Court throughout the Civil War, estranged from his home state and labeled a traitor in the South.
Roger B. Taney
A capable jurist whose otherwise distinguished career was obliterated by the catastrophic Dred Scott decision — the most consequential and reviled ruling in Court history.
Philip P. Barbour
Former Speaker of the House who died in his sleep during a Court term, serving only five years.
John Catron
A Tennessee Jacksonian who joined the Dred Scott majority but sided with the Union in the Civil War. His seat was abolished by Congress upon his death.
John McKinley
An Alabama senator turned justice who drew the enormous Ninth Circuit — thousands of miles of travel a year — and complained, with cause, that the assignment was unworkable.
Peter V. Daniel
The most doctrinaire states'-rights justice of the antebellum era. Dissented from nearly every expansion of federal power.
Samuel Nelson
Tyler's only successful Court appointment after four failed nominations. A steady New York property lawyer who preferred narrow rulings — his draft Dred Scott opinion would have avoided the catastrophe.
Levi Woodbury
The first justice to have attended law school — after a career as Governor of New Hampshire, senator, and Treasury Secretary. Died after just six years on the bench.
Robert C. Grier
A Pennsylvania jurist whose tenure ended in controversy when colleagues urged him to resign due to cognitive decline — one of the Court's earliest incapacity crises.
Benjamin R. Curtis
Author of the great dissent in Dred Scott. Resigned in protest over Taney's conduct — the only justice ever to resign on principle over a ruling.
John A. Campbell
A brilliant Alabama jurist who resigned to join the Confederacy, serving as its Assistant Secretary of War — then argued the Slaughterhouse Cases after the war.
Nathan Clifford
A Maine Democrat who served 23 years and presided over the Electoral Commission of 1877. Refused to resign despite failing health, hoping a Democrat would name his successor.