sentences:  Southern Democrats had dominated the Supreme Court of the United States in the period before Lincoln took office, and their unpopular ruling in the 1857 case of "Dred Scott v. Sandford" had done much to invigorate the Republican cause in the North.When Lincoln took office, the death of Peter Vivian Daniel had left a vacant seat on the Supreme Court.Two more vacancies arose in early 1861 due to the death of John McLean and the resignation of John Archibald Campbell.