Maryland Gov Orders Statue of Dred Scott Judge to Be Removed

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Tuesday that he supports removing the statue of former Chief Justice Roger Taney, who authored the infamous Dred Scott court decision that upheld the practice of slavery in 1857.

“While we cannot hide from our history — nor should we — the time has come to make clear the difference between properly acknowledging our past and glorifying the darkest chapters of our history,” Hogan said in a statement.

“With that in mind, I believe removing the Justice Roger B. Taney statue from the State House grounds is the right thing to do, and we will ask the State House Trust to take that action immediately,” he continued.

President Andrew Jackson, a slave owner, appointed Taney as the fifth chief justice of the Supreme Court. Taney wrote the Dred Scott decision, which ultimately denied granting black people citizenship and affirmed the practice of slavery.

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