National opinion over the Dred Scott decision was sectionally split as most things were in the mid-1850s. Most Northerners were outraged at the Supreme Court's decision. Many anti-slavery newspapers clearly expressed the disappointment of many Northerners. Staunch anti-slavery supporters such as Frederick Douglass declared Taney's decision an abomination and abuse of power. They realized the Supreme Court Justices had been biased towards the South as five of them owned slaves themselves.
On the other hand, almost all Southerners supported the result of the Dred Scott v. Sanford case thoroughly. Obviously, slavery defenders were proud of a Supreme Court opinion that basically guaranteed the existence of slavery forever. It was seldom publicized in the South that the Supreme Court had acted out of place and made the incorrect, biased decision. They never saw Dred Scott's view nor cared about his predicament. All most of the powerful Southerners cared about was the continuation of their biggest industry, slavery.