The fact that he [Roger Taney] died in virtual public disgrace was the result of his refusal to make another concession to the inevitable. To him it was unthinkable that the rapidly growing North should be permitted to impress its culture upon the South, not by slow permeation but by domination exercised through the federal government.

If the purpose of an appraisal is to condemn the man [Roger Taney], or the cause, or the culture which he was attempting to protect, the methods used in many of the analyses [of the Dred Scott case] perhaps leave little to be desired. Even those comments which do not misquote Taney, and which are obviously drafted in an attempt to preserve other portions of his judicial career from adverse criticism, are inadequate as to this case.