Taney Roger Roger B. Taney, as Future Chief Justice, Discusses Political Appointments Among Jackson SupportersROGER B. TANEY, Autograph Letter Signed, to Unknown Recipient, November 16, 1833, Washington, D.C. 2 pp., 8" x 9.75". Expected folds; splitting on center fold; uneven aging and discoloration but very legible.In response to a letter of recommendation for Henry Dilworth Gilpin (1801-1860), Secretary of the Treasury Roger B. Taney writes to an unidentified correspondent. Taney insists that John Pope (1770-1845) had not yet resigned as the Governor of Arkansas Territory, a position he had held since 1829. Taney also mentions that William S. Fulton (1795-1844) had served successfully as Secretary of the Arkansas Territory since 1829, and would like to succeed Pope. When Pope resigned in March 1835, Fulton did succeed him and held the office until June 1836. Later that year, Fulton became one of the first U.S. Senators from Arkansas when it became a state and held that position until his death.President Andrew Jackson had appointed Gilpin to the position of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1831, when George M. Dallas resigned to take a seat in the U.S. Senate. Dallas later served as vice president under James K. Polk. Gilpin held the position until 1837, when he received appointment as Solicitor of the United States Treasury. In addition, in January 1833, President Jackson appointed Gilpin as one of five government directors of the Second Bank of the United States. In that role, Gilpin became the leading opponent to Bank President Nicholas Biddle, a very uncomfortable position indeed, as Taney mentions in this letter. Jackson twice nominated Gilpin as governor of the Michigan Territory, but the Senate twice rejected the appointment. In January 1840, President Martin Van Buren appointed Gilpin as United States Attorney General, a position Gilpin held for the remaining fourteen months of Van Buren's administration.Complete Transcript Washington Novr 16, 1833 Private My dear sir I received your letter today. There is the kindest feeling here in relation to our excellent friend Mr. Gilpin, but there will be a difficulty in giving him this particular appointment. Govr Pope has not yet resigned, although such an intention has been spoken of for some time, & had given rise to conversations about his successor. Mr. Fulton who is the Secretary of the Territory & has been a most faithful and efficient one desires the appointment of Governor – and as he has resided in the Territory for many years & is much esteemed there and well acquainted with its inhabitants and interests, it would hardly be right to pass him over. And I am moreover persuaded that it is not the sort of appointment nor Arkansas the place where Mr. Gilpin could be happy or comfortable. And I hope that a place more suitable to his habits and more agreeable to his wishes may offer. I am sensible that his position in Philadelphia at the present moment cannot be a comfortable one – and I shall at all times take a deep interest in his welfare & be among the first to support his claims to remembrance. I am Dr sir very truly / & respectfully yours R. B. TaneyRoger B. Taney (1777-1864) was born in Maryland and graduated from Dickinson College in 1796. After reading law in Annapolis, Taney gained admission to the bar in 1799. In 1806, he married Anne Phoebe Charlton Key (1783-1855), sister of Francis Scott Key, and they had six daughters. Taney established a successful law practice in Frederick, Maryland, and won election to the House of Delegates as a Federalist. He broke with the Federalists in supporting the War of 1812 and joined the Democratic-Republican Party. He won election in 1816 to the Maryland Senate, and in 1823, he moved his law practice to Baltimore. From 1827 to 1831, Taney served as Attorney General of Maryland. After President Andrew Jackson's Attorney General resigned in the wake of the Petticoat Affair, Jackson appointed Taney to the position, which Taney held until November 1833. In a dispute with his Secretary of the Treasury over the Second Bank of the United States, Jackson fired him and appointed Taney as Secretary of the Treasury in a recess appointment. Taney held the position for nine months, before the U.S. Senate rejected Jackson's nomination of Taney to the position, the first cabinet nominee in history to be rejected. In January 1835, Jackson nominated Taney as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, but opponents in the Senate refused to act on the nomination. In July 1835, Jackson nominated Taney to succeed John Marshall as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Taney won Senate confirmation in March 1836. He served as chief justice for the next three decades and presided over a shift away from Marshall's nationalism to a more states' rights position. His 1857 opinion for the court in Dred Scott v. Sanford declared that Congress could not prohibit slavery from U.S. territories and spurred the growth of the Republican Party. The ruling is widely considered to be one of the worst ever made by the U.S. Supreme Court. During the Civil War, Taney challenged President Abraham Lincoln's broad interpretation of executive power and held that the president could not suspend the writ of habeas corpus.This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE.