How did the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision affect the debate over slavery expansion?
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Correct answer: It declared that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories
The Court ruled that Congress lacked authority to prohibit slavery in the territories. This decision outraged many Northerners and strengthened fears of a proslavery national government.
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More Slavery Expansion and Sectionalism questions
- Why did the Free Soil Party oppose the expansion of slavery?
- Which development best shows how slavery expansion reshaped American politics in the 1850s?
- Why did the issue of slavery expansion become especially divisive after the United States acquired new western lands?
- What was the main purpose of the Missouri Compromise of 1820?
- Which line established by the Missouri Compromise limited slavery in much of the Louisiana Purchase territory?
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