British Perspective on American "Freedom"
The Somerset Case freed a slave that went to Britain with his master and sued for his freedom. The colonists were terrified and angry over the ruling and quickly noticed the willingness of slaves to run away or misbehave more after the ruling. Somerset's case gave slaves the knowledge that if England itself saw slavery as bad, then the colonies might eventually follow. It also made England a place they desired to go to so they could be free. Somerset's consul in the case foretold that those “excluded from the common benefits of the constitution, are interested in scheming its destruction.”* It was obvious that slaves would not obediently follow orders for as long as they wore chains. To free slaves, however, was to free men and women who were thoroughly abused by their masters. These slave owners knew the hatred felt for them by these people, and saw the threat of what would happen if they were freed.
*1 Horne, Gerald. The Counter-Revolution of 1776. New York University Press, 2014. Pgs. 209-210.