I know. My sentence referred to when the Bill of Rights was passed, not when the Barron ruling was handed down.
IMO, barron was a cynical attempt to appease the south, and avert war. -- Do you have any citations from that time period to suggest that it wasn't?
If it was a political decision, then it would have generated controversy. Particularly, if it was designed to placate the South, then there would have been significant opposition up North. If you go to a seach engine with terms such as Barron, Baltimore, controversy, it'll come up with nothing to speak of. Compare this to the reaction to Taney's ruling in Dred Scott vs. Sanford. Like night and day.