After the Dred Scott case, the division between slave and free states was even more clear than it had been in the past. Chief Justice Taney's opinion was met with extreme hate and anger in the North, and even among segments of the South. The public reaction against the case was extremely negative and controversial. The effect of this was that the slavery topic became more dominant in politics and society, and abolitionists gained strength. The efforts of many Americans to end slavery, therefore, became more intense, and the promise of a solution more likely.