Slavery and the U.S. Supreme Court

Legal historian Paul Finkelman, author of Supreme Injustice: Slavery in the Nation’s Highest Court, will give a lecture followed by a book signing at the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History. The three most important Supreme Court justices before the Civil War—Chief Justices John Marshall and Roger B. Taney and Associate Justice Joseph Story—upheld the institution of slavery in ruling after ruling. These opinions cast a shadow over the Court and the legacies of these men, but historians have rarely delved deeply into the personal and political ideas and motivations they held.

The event is hosted by the Baton Foundation in partnership with the Auburn Avenue Research Library.

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This event is supported by Georgia Humanities.