Reconciling History

—Baltimore's Confederate Monuments —

In 1836, Roger Brooke Taney became Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and served in this position until his death in 1864. In 1857, he wrote the Dred Scott decision, which stated that African American—enslaved and free—- were property and could never be citizens of the United States.

In 1887, this monument sculpted by William Henry Rinehart was given to the City of Baltimore by businessman, art patron, and Confederate sympathizer William Walters. This monument is an exact replica of the 1872 Taney monument also commissioned by Walters which sits on the grounds of the State House in Annapolis. At the dedication in Annapolis, Severn Teakle Wallis stated that the figure was a "protest in living bronze" against the U.S. Congress, which in 1865 had withheld funds to create a bust of Taney. Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts had justified the Congressional withholding of funds for the monument stating that the Dred Scott decision was a "terrible decision where a most unrighteous judgment was sustained by a falsification of history." This monument helped to promote white supremacy in Baltimore.

In 2015, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake appointed a Special Commission to Review Baltimore's Public Confederate Monuments to provide recommendations based on informed decisions and citizen input on how to address Baltimore's Confederate-related monuments. While the Taney Monument is not explicitly a Confederate monument, the Dred Scott decision advanced slavery in America and was closely tied to the Confederate cause.

This plaque serves to inform the public on the history of Baltimore's Confederate monuments. For more information, please review the Special Commission to Review Baltimore's Public Confederate Monuments Report to Mayor Rawlings-Blake located at www.chap.baltimorecity.gov.

Sign content developed by the Baltimore City Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation Graphic design services provided by the Baltimore National Heritage Area.

Show me all markers in:  Baltimore, MD  |  21202  |  Maryland  |  United States of America

Romance of a Romantic
Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church
Mount Vernon Cultural Walk-Celebrating Culture
Francis Scott Key
A Monumental Mistake
Washington Monument
Welcome to the Washington Monument and Mount Vernon Place
A Monumental Honor
Contributing to Society: Baltimore's Best Address
Mount Vernon Place Methodist Church-Asbury House Historical

• GPX
• KML
• LOC

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.