GOOD EVENING, RACHEL.
>> THANK YOU, CHRIS.
MUCH APPRECIATED.
THANKS TO YOU AT HOME FOR BEING
WITH US THIS HOUR.
SO, HE HAD BEEN A SLAVE.
HE WAS ENSLAVED TO A WHITE MAN
NAMED JOHN EMERSON IN MISSOURI,
BUT THEN DURING THE TIME
EMMERSON WAS HOLDING THIS MAN AS
A SLAVE, HE MOVED SEVERAL TIMES,
INCLUDING MOVING OUT OF
MISSOURI.
HE MOVED TO THE WISCONSIN
TERRITORY.
HE MOVED TO THE STATE OF
ILLINOIS.
BOTH OF WHICH WERE NOT SLAVE
TERRITORIES OR SLAVE STATES,
BOTH OF WHICH WERE FREE.
SO THAT CREATED AN UNUSUAL
SITUATION.
A WHITE MAN AND AN
AFRICAN-AMERICAN MAN HE HAS
ENSLAVED.
THEY START IN MISSOURI.
THEY TRAVELED TO AND LIVE IN
FREE TERRITORY FOR A TIME, AND
THEN ULTIMATELY THEY MOVE BACK
TO SLAVE STATE MISSOURI.
ALL RIGHT, WHEN THE WHITE MAN
DIED, THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MAN
WHO HAD BEEN ENSLAVED TO HIM, HE
TRIED TO BUY HIS OWN FREEDOM
FROM THE DEAD MANS FAMILY, FROM
THE DEAD MANS WIDOW, AND THE
FAMILY REFUSED TO ALLOW HIM TO
BUY HIS FREEDOM.
THE ENSLAVED MAN THEN DECIDED HE
WOULD SUE FOR HIS FREEDOM.
HE WOULD TURN TO THE COURTS.
AND THE BASIS FOR HIM SUING FOR
HIS FREEDOM WAS THAT TIME IN THE
FREE TERRITORY OF WISCONSIN AND
THE FREE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
IF AN ENSLAVED PERSON WAS MOVED
INTO FREE TERRITORY, INTO A FREE
STATE, THEYRE FREED FROM
ENSLAVEMENT, AND THAT IS
SOMETHING THAT CANT BE
REVERSED, EVEN IF YOU GO BACK TO
MISSOURI.
ONCE FREE, ALWAYS FREE.
SO HE SUED ON THAT BASIS IN
1846, AND IT TOOK FOREVER, BUT
FINALLY 13 YEARS LATER IN 1859,
THE CASE WAS THE SUBJECT OF A
RULING IN THE UNITED STATES
SUPREME COURT.
IT WAS A DECISION THAT HANDS
DOWN, NO ARGUMENT, IS CONSIDERED
TO THIS DAY TO BE THE WORST
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
DECISION OF ALL TIME.
AND PART OF THAT WAS ITS FORM.
IT WAS SLOPPY AND FLAGRANTLY
WRONG ON THE FACTS AND THE
HISTORY AND THE LAW.
IT WAS POORLY REASONED.
ITS LOGIC WAS JUST A BROKEN
PRETZEL.
BUT THE CHIEF JUSTICE WHO WROTE
THAT SUPREME COURT OPINION
APPARENTLY WANTED THE OUTCOME
THAT HE WANTED AND HE GOT IT AND
THAT SUPREME COURT JUST SIS
REMEMBERED TODAY FOR BASICALLY
NOTHING ELSE OTHER THAN THAT
TERRIBLE DECISION.
THE WORST DECISION EVER HANDED
DOWN BY THE UNITED STATES
SUPREME COURT.
BECAUSE THE ENSLAVED MAN WHO
SUED FOR HIS FREEDOM IN THAT
RULING WAS A MAN NAMED DRED
SCOTT.
IT WAS CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERT
TANNY THAT WROTE THE RULING.
HE WROTE NOT ONLY WAS MR. SCOTT
ENTITLED TO BE FREE, HE WROTE
DID NOT EVEN HAVE STANDING TO
SUE FOR HIS FREEDOM BECAUSE AS
AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN HE WAS NOT A
CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES.
BECAUSE ACCORDING TO THE JUDGE,
NO AFRICAN-AMERICAN WAS A
CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES OR
EVER COULD BE A CITIZEN OF THE
UNITED STATES BECAUSE OF THEIR
RACE.
AND SO NONE OF THE BENEFITS OR
RIGHTS ENSHRINED IN THE
CONSTITUTION COULD EXTEND TO
BLACK PEOPLE OR WOULD EXTEND TO
BLACK PEOPLE.
IT AFFORDED THEM NO RIGHTS.
THE JUDGE ALSO WENT ON TO SAY
THE POLITICAL COMPROMISE, THE
MISSOURI COMPROMISE THAT KEPT
STATES FROM ESTABLISHING SLAVERY
IN THE UNITED STATES WAS
UNCONSTITUTIONAL, TOO.
THAT SLAVERY COULD PERSIST
ANYWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES
AND CONGRESS COULD HAVE NOTHING
TO SAY ABOUT THAT.
AND AMERICANS OF AFRICAN DECENT
WERE NOT CITIZENS OF THE UNITED
STATES, AND THEY NEVER COULD BE
AND THE CONSTITUTION DID NOT
APPLY TO THEM.
DRED SCOTT.
ITS THE WORST THING THE UNITED
STATES SUPREME COURT HAS EVER
DONE.
THE WORST RULING, BOTH IN
SUBSTANCE AND IN FORM AND OF
COURSE IN EFFECT.
I MEAN, THE DECISION ARGUABLY
NARROWLY DESTROYED THE COUNTRY
WHEN IT HELPED LEAD TO THE
UNITED STATES CIVIL WAR JUST A
COUPLE YEARS AFTER THE RULING
WAS HANDED DOWN.
THE WORST SUPREME COURT DECISION
EVER.
THE RULING IN THE DRED SCOTT
CASE, AGAIN, THAT WAS CHIEF
JUSTICE ROGER TAINEY, AND THIS
IS CHIEF JUSTICE ROGER TAINEY.
THIS BUST OF HIM SITS TODAY IN
THE UNITED STATES CAPITOL.
FROM 1810 TO 1860, THE U.S.
SUPREME COURT HELD THEIR
SESSIONS AT THE CAPITOL.
THEY SAT IN WHATS CALLED THE
OLD SUPREME COURT CHAMBER.
THE ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
SAYS SINCE THEY MOVED OUT OF
THERE IN 1860, THAT BIG ROOM HAS
BEEN USED AS A LIBRARY, A
COMMITTEE ROOM, IT WAS EVEN JUST
USED FOR STORAGE FOR A WHILE
BEFORE THEY RESTORED IT TO LOOK
ESSENTIALLY NOW LIKE IT DID IN
THE 1800s.
THE WAY YOU GET INTO THE CHAMBER
IS YOU GO IN THROUGH A ROBING
ROOM.
ITS A FUNNY WORD, BUT ITS A
THING IN THE MODERN COURTROOMS
TODAY.
JUDGES GOT PUT ON THEIR ROBES
SOMEWHERE, SOW ENTER THROUGH A
ROBING ROOM.
BUT IN THIS ONE PARTICULAR
ROBING ROOM IN THE UNITED STATES
CAPITOL, WHICH MARKS THE
ENTRANCE TO THIS ONE SPECIFIC
ENTRANCE TO THE FORMER COURT
THAT WAS INSIDE THE U.S.
CAPITOL, IN THE ROBING ROOM,
THERE IS A MARBLE BUST OF JUST
ONE PERSON, ROGER TAINEY, THE
MAN WHO WROTE THE DRED SCOTT
DECISION, TRYING TO SPREAD
SLAVERY THROUGH THE UNITED
STATES AND THAT BLACK PEOPLE BY
VIRTUE OF THEIR RACE WERE NOT
CITIZENS.
ITS JUST HIM.
ITS NOT LIKE THAT IS A HALL OF
CHIEF JUSTICE.
OR A HALL OF JUSTICE.
ITS JUST HIM, ROGER T ARKAINEY
ALONE LOOMING OVER THE ENTRANCE
TO THE U.S. CAPITOL.
AS OF RIGHT NOW.
OR HOW ABOUT NOT?
HOW ABOUT WE CHANGE THAT?
TONIGHT THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES VOTED TO NOT DO
THAT ANYMORE.
TO SWAP HIM OUT.
TO TAKE DOWN FROM THAT PLACE OF
HONOR IN THE U.S. CAPITOL, THE
JUSTICE WHO WROTE THE WORST
SUPREME COURT RULING OF ALL TIME
AND INSTEAD REPLACE HIM WITH A
DIFFERENT SUPREME COURT JUSTICE
WHO DIDNT DO THAT.
HOW ABOUT JUSTICE THURSDAY GOOD
MARSHALL.
HOW ABOUT THAT?
THE HOUSE PASSED A BILL TO TAKE
DOWN THE BUST LAST SUMMER.
IT PASSED IN THE DEMOCRATIC
CONTROLLED HOUSE LAST JULY BUT
NEVER WENT ANYWHERE.
REPUBLICAN SENATE LEADER MITCH
McCONNELL BLOCKED IT.
REPUBLICANS IN THE SENATE NEVER
TOOK IT UP.
SO TANEY STILL SITS THERE.
NOW THAT DEMOCRATS ARE IN
CONTROL OF THE SENATE -- NOT
MITCH McCONNELL THERE ANYMORE,
ITS CHUCK SCHUMER, WHO IS THE
MAJORITY LEADER IN THE SENATE.
NOW THAT ITS DEMOCRATS IN THE
HOUSE AND SENATE, MAJOR ROGER
TANEY IS GOING TO GET DOWNTIME.
MAYBE WELL STOP THE ONGOING
HONOR AT THE UNITED STATES
CAPITOL.
SEE IF SOMEBODY ELSE WILL GET A
TURN.
THE VOTE TONIGHT IN THE HOUSE
FOR THE SECOND TIME IN TWO YEARS
THEYVE TAKE THEN VOTE, BUT THE
VOTE TONIGHT IN THE HOUSE TO
TAKE DOWN THE ROGER TANEY BUST
IN THE U.S. CAPITOL WAS 285 TO