how did northerners react to the free scott decision?

Answer 1

The Free Scott Decision, also known as the Dred Scott Decision, was a controversial Supreme Court ruling in 1857 that stated African Americans, whether enslaved or free, were not citizens of the United States and therefore had no rights to sue in federal court. This decision infuriated many Northerners, particularly those who opposed slavery and championed the cause of abolition.

In reaction to the decision, Northern abolitionists and anti-slavery activists expressed outrage and condemned it as a further validation of the institution of slavery. They saw the decision as a manifestation of the South's powerful influence over the federal government and feared that it would only perpetuate and expand slavery in the United States.

Northerners viewed the Free Scott Decision as a threat to their own personal liberties and a violation of the principle of equality upon which the country was founded. Many perceived it as a blatant example of Southern dominance in the federal government and felt that it undermined the progress made in limiting the expansion of slavery. It further polarized the nation and heightened tensions between the North and South over the issue of slavery, which eventually led to the American Civil War.