Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-30
Taney's bred Scott
Decision Misguided
To the Editor Of The star:


II Is regrettable that ~ this late
day The Star should resuscitate the
ancient calumny against Chief Justice
| fancy.
In an article on the Chief Justice
| by James Waldo Fawcett, printed in
The Star Of September "a, appears the
| following:
the importont bred Scott decision.
One phase in his decision held that
Negroes were beings Of an inferior or
der and so far inferior that
they had no rights which the white
man was bound to respect"
This trick of picking a phrase from
It's context and making 1t appear that
the above-quoted sentences express the
opinion Of Chief Justice fancy and Of
the Supreme Court has frequently been
exposed.
In order that your readers may not
be misled by the statements in Mr..
Fawcett's article I quote the following
relevant extracts from the decision Of
| the Supreme Court in the case Of Scott
VS.. Sanford, 10 How, 393:
cit Is difficult at this day to realize
the state of public opinion in relation to
that unfortunate race which prevailed
| lions Of the world at the time Of the
Declaration Of Independence and when
the Constitution of the United States
was framed and adopted. But the pub
| lie history of every European nation
displays it, in . manner too plain to
be mistaken.
"They had for more than q century
before been regarded as beings Of an
inferior order and altogether UNFIT to
associate with the white race. either in
social or political relations, and so far
inferior that they had no rights which
| the white man was bound to respect,
/ and that the Negro might justly and
! lawfully be reduced to slavery for his
benefit. He was bought and sold and
| treated as an ordinary article OF mer-
chandise and trafhc whenever a profit
could be made by it. This opinion was
at that time fixed and universal in the
civilized portion of the white race. 1t
was regarded as an axiom in morals
as well as in politics, which no one
thought Of disputing or supposed to be
open to dispute; and men in every grade
and position in society daily and habitu-
ally acted upon it in their private pur-
suits, as well as in matters of public
concern, without doubling for q moment
the correctness of this opinion.
"And In no nation was this opinion
more firmly fixed or more uniformly
acted upon than by the English govern
ment and English people. They not
only seized them on the coast Of Africa
and sold them or held them in slavery
for their own use, but they took them
as ordinary articles Of merchandise to
every country where they could make a
profit on them and were far more ex-
tensively engaged in this commerce
than any other nation in the world.
1.-THE opinion thus entertained and
acted upon in England was naturally
impressed upon the colonies they found
ed on this side of the Atlantic. And,
accordingly, Negro of the African race
was regarded by them as an article of
| property and held and bought and sold
as such in every one Of the Is Colonies
which united in the Declaration Of In
dependence and afterwards formed the
Constitution of the United States. The
slaves were more or less numerous in
the different Colonies, as slave labor
was found more or less profitable. But
not one seems to have doubted the cor
rectness of the prevailing opinion Of the
| time
we refer to these historical facts for
the purpose of showing the fixed opin-
ons concerning that race, upon which
the statesmen Of that day spoke and
acted. 1t is necessary to do this, in
order to determine whether the general
terms used in the Constitution of the
United States, as to the rights Of man
and the rights of the people, were in
tended to include them, or to give to
them or their posterity the benefit of
any Of its provisions"
1t is perfectly clear from the opinion
Of the court that the statements were
not and were not intended to be express
sions Of the opinion of the court or of
the Chief Justice
1t should also be borne In mind when
considering the personal character and
personal opinions of the Chief Justice
4 that long before this decision he not
only had manumitted all the slaves he
inherited, but made ample provision for
their support, and that as early as 1919
in public argument, he said, "a hard
necessity compels us to endure the evil
of slavery for a time, yet while it con-
tinues it is a blot on our national
character"
JAMES 8. EAsBY-sMTTH.