Reply #35: The Dread Scott Decision in 1857

[Pork Chop]

The Supreme Court declared that the Constitution did not apply to blacks, and that it was unconstitutional to abolish slavery in any state (so basically, after this decision you could legally own a cotton plantation in Massachusates or any other northern state). This is arguably the worst decision made by the Supreme Court (39 years later they declared segregation legal, which was pretty bad too), and certainly helped start the civil war.

http://www.tourolaw.edu/patch/Scott/

I'm not sure about the midwest, but I do know that you would find bumper stickers like that in the south. I imagine they aren't common, but they aren't a rarity either.