The Taney Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy.The Taney Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy. By Timothy S. Huebner. ABC-CLIO Supreme Court Handbooks. (Santa Barbara, Calif., Denver, Colo., and Oxford, Eng.: ABC-CLIO, c. 2003. Pp. xiv, 288. Cloth, $65.00, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 1-57607-368-8; e-book, $70.00, ISBN 1-57607-369-6.) Timothy S. Huebner, an associate professor of history at Rhodes College and author of a fine monograph on the southern judicial tradition, has produced a strong addition to the ABC-CLIO Supreme Court Handbooks series. Huebner's contribution covers the Supreme Court's major constitutional opinions during the tenure of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney (1836-1864), and it seeks to convey to general readers the way in which "the lives of the justices--their regional and religious backgrounds, families and education, party affiliations and judicial experience, to name but a few factors"--shaped their opinions (p. xii). Huebner covers a good deal of ground in a relatively short space. In 194 pages, he provides an account of the politics of judicial appointments during the antebellum and Civil War eras, a series of concise biographies of all twenty justices to serve on the Taney Court, and an analysis of the Taney Court's major rulings and constitutional legacy. The remainder of the book contains excerpts of judicial opinions, a glossary, a chronology, and a section entitled "Key People, Laws, and Events"--all items that general readers and students will find useful. Huebner's thesis is that Roger B. Taney was nearly a great chief justice. Decisions like Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge The 1837 landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 36 U.S. (11 Pet.) 420, 9 L. Ed. 773, illustrated the shift in politics brought about by the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Company (1837), Cooley v. Board of Wardens Cooley v. Board of Wardens, 53 U.S. 299 (1851)[1], was a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that a Pennsylvania law requiring all ships entering or leaving Philadelphia to hire a local pilot did not violate the Commerce Clause of the of the Port of Philadelphia The Port of Philadelphia, within the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is strategically located at the center of the Northeast Corridor. It handles a large amount of containerized traffic, making it the second largest port (by volume) in North America. (1852), and Luther v. Borden Luther v. Borden, 48 U.S. 1 (1849)[1], was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States established the political question test in controversies arising under the Guarantee Clause of Article Four of the United States Constitution (Art. (1849) made significant contributions to American constitutional development. "A more dynamic economic order, a more balanced federalism, and a clearer delineation of the proper roles of the various branches of government all came about during the Taney period" (pp. 192-93). Yet the Taney Court's support for slavery--an "unswerving devotion to slaveholding slave·hold·er n. One who owns or holds slaves. slave  hold ing adj. interests," Huebner says--must qualify all
of these contributions (p. 172). Decisions like Dred Scott v. Sandford In Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393, 15 L. Ed. 691 (1857), the U.S. Supreme Court faced the divisive issue of Slavery. Chief Justice roger b. taney, a former slaveholder, authored the Court's opinion, holding that the U.S. (1857) strengthened slavery while weakening the Union and pushed the
United States toward secession and civil war. A staunch commitment to
human bondage prevented Taney from reaching his potential as a truly
great chief justice.
Specialists will find no surprises here. Huebner's analyses of particular cases reach conclusions well established in the historiography, and he draws on no sources other than court decisions and secondary literature. That said, however, Huebner's insistence that scholars take into account both the Court's rulings on economic development, federalism, and separation of powers separation of powers: see Constitution of the United States. separation of powers Division of the legislative, executive, and judicial functions of government among separate and independent bodies. as well as slavery stands as a welcome corrective to older studies that tend to ignore slavery and newer ones that tend to allow slavery to overshadow everything else. Huebner's book also provides an overview of the Taney Court that is far more wieldy than the standard overview provided in Carl Brent Swisher's massive (and dated) The Taney Period, 1836-64 (New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , 1974). The brevity of The Taney Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy makes it an excellent introduction for students and other interested readers. AUSTIN ALLEN University of Houston--Downtown |
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