 Buchanan hoped that the decision would quell unrest in the country over the slavery issue by issuing a ruling that put the future of slavery beyond the realm of political debate.Buchanan later successfully pressured Associate Justice Robert Cooper Grier, a Northerner, to join the southern majority in "Dred Scott" to prevent the appearance that the decision was made along sectional lines.By today's standards and even by the time's more lenient standards, Buchanan's applying of such political pressure to a member of a sitting court would be regarded as highly improper.