The Northern states viewed the Dred Scott decision as an act of judicial activism and a gross misinterpretation of the Constitution. Northerners generally considered slavery as morally wrong and saw the Dred Scott decision as a way to legitimize and further spread the practice of slavery, threatening the free soil movement and potentially allowing slavery to expand into Northern Territories. Many Republicans were incensed by the decision of slave holding Democrats on the Supreme Court, leading to increased sectional animosity between the North and South and contributing to the eventual outbreak of the Civil War.