Prigg v. Pennsylvania

read the text below and the link text and answer the questions in the form of an essay with an introduction and conclusion.
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A Nation Divided

In the years leading to the Civil War, disputes between the North and the South grew. The industrial North slowly phased out the institution of slavery while the agricultural South continued to build their plantations on a slave economy. Northern senators wanted pro-business policies while southerners argued for laws that encouraged the growth of agricultural trade. Both sides vied for the most political power, and northern and southern states created laws at both the state and federal level to gain the most political advantage. These differences created incredibly deep social, economic, and political divides. The conflict focused most on the institution of slavery. The South sought to maintain the institution of slavery in southern states and extend slavery to new states entering the union. The North, by contrast, wanted to limit the growth of slavery and reduce its presence in northern states. Because slavery was so contentious, the United States Supreme Court often decided between clashing state and federal slave laws. In 1842, one such debate arose between a federal law from 1793 and a state law passed in 1826. The Fugitive Slave Act, first issued by the federal government in 1793, stated that slaveholders had the right to catch and re-enslave runaway slaves found anywhere in the United States’ territory. Starting in the 1780s, the State of Pennsylvania issued laws against the removal of former slaves from the state, and in 1826, it passed a further law against slavecatchers. Prigg v. Pennsylvania challenged the validity of these laws when a slavecatcher, named Edward Prigg, captured Margaret Morgan, a runaway slave from Maryland. The State of Pennsylvania charged Prigg claiming that he violated state law. Prigg appealed, and in 1842, the case appeared before the Supreme Court. In the end, the Supreme Court upheld federal law over state law.

Link: http://www.americanyawp.com/reader/the-sectional-crisis/prigg-v-pennsylvania-1842/

Questions:

This primary source is a legal document (a Supreme Court decision) and from it, we learn a lot about the fight between the North and the South leading up to the Civil War. What are some other primary sources which could help historians understand this period and the tensions between the North and the South.
What did the Supreme Court use as evidence to justify their decision in Prigg v. Pennsylvania?
According to Prigg v. Pennsylvania, what would have happened if there was no law regarding runaway slaves?
How do you think this law affected slaves in the United States?
For many abolitionists and northerners, this decision was simply wrong. Based on what you have learned so far about the government in the United States, how do you think you would have responded to this decision if you lived in a northern state? (Think about the kinds of avenues you have available for recourse against such a law.)