CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR

CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR

THREE MAIN CAUSES

• SLAVERY – main cause

• SECTIONALISM – favoring one region over the whole country

• SECESSION/STATES’ RIGHTS – breaking away from the country/believing states are more important than nation

Missouri Compromise• Who – Henry Clay – the Great Compromiser• What – set line to divide free and slave states in

future (except Missouri); Missouri enters as a slave state, Maine as a free state

• When – 1820• Where – Missouri, Maine, Western Territory• Why – kept balance of slave and free states – 12

of each• Drew a line along the southern border of Missouri

across Louisiana Purchase. Everything North of line would be free. Everything South of line would be slave.

Missouri Compromise

Nat Turner’s Rebellion• Who – Nat Turner, 17 other slaves – David Walker

“An Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World”• What – rebellion against slave owners, killed 55 white

people• When – August 21, 1831, Nat Turner hanged on

November 11, 1831• Where – Virginia (just over NC/VA border)• Why – freedom from slavery• How – 1. Kill white slave owners• 2. Capture county capital• 3. Take over Virginia

Abolitionists• Who – William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, the

Grimke sisters etc.• What – people who wanted to end slavery• When – late 1700’s until 1865• 1863 – Emancipation Proclamation• 1865 – 13th amendment abolishes slavery• Where – all over the US, mostly in the North• Why – religious and moral reasons; enslaving human

beings is wrong• How – protests, pamphlets, newspapers ( the

Liberator), Underground Railroad, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”

Harriet Beecher StoweHer novel had a major impact on northern Attitudes towards slavery

Uncle Tom’s CabinMost famous anti-slaverynovel published – best-selling novelOf the 19th century – 2 millioncopies

Abolition Leaders

William Lloyd GarrisonDavid Walker

Robert Finley

Angelina andSarah Grimke

FrederickDouglass

COMPROMISE OF 1850• Who – Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C.

Calhoun• What – 1. Ca. admitted as free state• 2. New Mex. and Utah – people vote on slavery• 3. DC – slavery, but no slave trade• 4. Strong Fugitive Slave Law – became major

issue• When – 1850• Where – Ca., New Mex., Utah, DC• Why – no more balance of free and slave states• 1849 – 15 of each• South would never again have even numbers• How – Congress approves, keeping nation from

breaking apart

KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT

• Who – Stephen Douglas• What – repealed Missouri Compromise,

allowed people to decide slavery for themselves (popular sovereignty), “Bleeding Kansas” – violence over slavery

• When – Act is passed in 1854, Nebraska becomes free state in 1854, Kansas in 1859

• Where – Kansas, Nebraska

Kansas-Nebraska 2

• Why – Belief that citizens of a state should decide whether it was slave or free, where to build transcontinental railroad.

• How – Act passed in Congress caused major violence in Kansas

DRED SCOTT DECISION• Who – Dred Scott, Roger

B. Taney• What – sued for his

freedom based on the fact that he had lived in a free state

• When – 1856-57• Where – Missouri, Illinois,

Wisconsin• Why – Supreme Court

ruled he could not sue since he was property, not a citizen

• How – anti-slavery lawyers helped Scott sue

Lincoln-Douglas Debates• Who – Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas• What – series of political debates – race for U.S.

Senate• When – 1858• Where – Illinois• Why – central theme became slavery. Lincoln

believed it was wrong and was opposed to it spreading to any new areas.

• Douglas wanted to leave slavery up to each state – Freeport Doctrine

• How – Douglas wins election, but debates make Lincoln famous and lead to his nomination as Republican candidate for President in 1860

Lincoln believed that the Country would have to be allSlave or all free. “A houseDivided cannot stand.”

Abraham Lincoln

Stephen Douglas

RAID ON HARPER’S FERRYOCTOBER 16, 1859

• Who – John Brown, 21 whites and free blacks

• What – raid on arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, get weapons and ammo stored there, 10 of his men killed, the rest captured

• When – 10/16/1859 – attack on arsenal, John Brown and 6 others found guilty of treason and hanged on 12/2/1859

• Where – Harper’s Ferry, Virginia

JOHN BROWN

Harper’s Ferry 2

• Why – was an abolitionist – hated slavery• How – attacked arsenal with 21 followers,

going to use weapons to begin slave revolt (None joined), stopped by Col. Robert E. Lee and US Marines

• This persuaded many southerners that they would have to leave the Union to preserve their rights.

Underground Railroad• Who - Harriet Tubman, Harriet

Jacobs, Sojourner Truth, conductors, Stationmasters, bounty hunters

• What - escape system for slaves out of the South, set up by free Blacks, escaped slaves, white abolitionists, and religious groups (Quakers)

• When – 1831 to 1850 – stopped by Fugitive Slave Law

• Where – mostly southern states to Canadian border, stations 2 to 20 miles apart

Underground Railroad 2

• Why – Freedom for slaves, secret escape route

• How – secret routes, hid in attics, barns, cellars. Traveled by walking or in boats at night

ELECTION OF 1860Who – John Breckinridge –Southern DemocratStephen Douglas – Northern DemocratJohn C. Bell – Constitutional Union PartyAbraham Lincoln – RepublicanWhat – Presidential Election – Breckinridge gets

most southern states, Douglas gets Missouri, Bell gets Border States, Lincoln gets all northern states/not even on the ballot in the south

When – 11/6/1860Where – United States – South Carolina said it

would leave US (secede) if Lincoln won. SC secedes on 12/20/1860

Election of 1860 2

• Why – to elect a President of the United States

• How – electoral college and popular vote split in the Democratic Party helped Lincoln win – he had 180 of 303 electoral votes, but only 40% of the popular vote

SECESSION• SOUTH CAROLINA IS FIRST TO LEAVE THE

UNION ON DECEMBER 20, 1860, FOLLOWED BY MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, AND TX.

• John J. Crittenden – proposed last plan to save the Union – Crittenden Compromise

• FEBRUARY 4, 1861 – CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA ARE FORMED

• JEFFERSON DAVIS IS ELECTED ITS FIRST PRESIDENT

• FIRST CAPITAL – MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA