What is the greatest missed opportunity in American history?

(The date and time are dummy values to be updated when the meeting is scheduled.)

In his Dred Scott opinion of March 1857, Chief Justice Roger Taney affirms the equality of blacks, thereby delegitimizing southern secession and portending the end of slavery. Had Republicans been astute, they would have put Taney's equality affirmation to strategic use in a relentless campaign for the next four years, possibly preventing secession and war.

But no one bothered to read Taney’s opinion with sufficient care, so the most famous quote of Taney to this day is a slanderous misquote that reverses his original meaning. In fact, the public paid little attention to the Dred Scott rulings until Republicans advertised them in 1858 and 1860 in order to run against them in the elections of these years.

In the meeting, I will present these ideas for discussion.

Reference: Philip Bitar, The Second American Revolution, Edition 2 (2022), article 12.1

Meeting times and locations

Time is PST or PDT, depending on time of year, X = TBD:

X:00 pm in-person — Marysville Library, 2nd meeting-room door on LHS of entrance hallway

X:15 pm online — link to be posted here before meeting

If you plan to attend in person, when you register, please add a comment "Plan to attend in person" to help me in preparing room accommodations.