Letter from Roger B. Taney to J. Mason Campbell

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney writes J. Mason Campbell to defend a decision he made as Acting Secretary of War (June - August 1831) during President Andrew Jackson's administration. "When I acted as Secretary of War, I was [also] in office as Attorney General," and as Taney explains, "I performed the duties of both offices, [so] I received the salaries of both." This decision remains the "right" one because, as Taney argues, "the public received the benefit of my services in both offices." Transcript included.