Upload
others
View
4
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
What caused the Civil War?Take 3- minutes and free-write your thoughts. Your answers do not have to be composed/formulated neatly, I want you to write your train of thought.
Slavery and the Antebellum SouthRoad to the Civil War
“King Cotton”
Cotton production surged because of cotton gin, westward expansion, and industrialization
Economic Consequences South too dependent on one crop Plantations mean population is spread out, no cities 2/5 of the people are slaves (poor, do not buy goods,
no industry)
Cultural Consequences Lack of education- slaves not educated, white
illiteracy Only ¼ of southern whites owned slaves, and most
of those had fewer than 10 slaves Defense of slavery as a “positive good”
Slaves treated better than factory workers in the North?
Defending Slavery
The SouthNecessary for the agricultural economy
Northerners benefit from it (ship cotton for textiles)
Said paid employees in North always fighting about wages
Slavery better b/c masters and slaves depend on one another
There is slavery in the bible, so it must be okay
Even Southerners who did now own slaves defended it
Hoped to have slaves one day
Afraid freed slaves would take revenge
Defending Slavery
The NorthWhite workers did not want to
compete with free black workers Industrialists did not want to lose the
cotton businessNortherners didn’t want to deal with
problems freeing the slaves would cause
The Gag Rule passed in Congress 1836
No debate on the subject of slavery allowed in Congress
Passed by Southerners w/ help from Northerners
Life under slavery
1830, 2 million slaves in the South
Most worked all day in cotton fields, loading docks, or taking care of their masters
Overseers made them work Physical punishment: Beatings
Mental punishment: Separating from family
Basic necessities (food, shelter, clothing) typically provided, but not guaranteed and depending on the master may not be enough
Resisting Slavery
Many slaves coped with miserable conditions
Worked to keep connected to family and friends, keep traditions and stories alive, religion as a source of comfort
Others resisted via sabotage or escape
Some fought back 200 slave revolts in first half of the 1800s
1822, former slave Denmark Vesey planned revolt in Charleston, SC
News leaked, organizers caught and hanged
Resisting Slavery
Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831) in Richmond, VA
Turner believed God had told him to lead slaves to freedom
Attempted to capture armory (to secure weapons)
His group killed 55 people on way there
Captured by militia after 6 weeks and executed
Led to states adopting tougher laws for slaves
Not allowed to read
Can’t gather in unsupervised groups
Free African-Americans
Free African American population in the North grew
Worried slaveholders, thought it would make slaves want freedom
American Colonization Society founded to encourage free blacks to move to Africa, est. country of Liberia
But most stayed in US
Persistent racial discriminationBlack churches and schools in the
North tried to help enslaved African Americans in the South
Slavery Divides the Nation
North and South develop differently North: Cities, industry, factories w/ paid labor,
immigrants South: Agrarian (cotton), slave labor
Problems as the country expands westward: should slavery spread?
Slavery Divides the Nation
Northern views of slavery: Blacks still seen as inferior
Varied opinions on slavery Indifference
Few Abolitionists
Okay b/c of economic reasons (cotton, need to keep jobs)
Southern views of slavery: Better than “wage labor” in the North, happier
than factory workers
Slaves in the bible
Slaves 2/5 of the population
Causes of the Civil WarRoad to the Civil War
California and the Compromise of 1850
Gold rush increased population of California but wants to be added as a free state
Calhoun calls for South to secede
Daniel Webster urges compromise and popular sovereignty (let the people choose)
Compromise of 1850 proposed by Henry Clay preserved the Union for another decade
1. California= Free state
2. Utah and New Mexico: “popular sovereignty”
3. Slave trade outlawed in D.C.
4. Fugitive Slave Act requires citizens to return escaped slaves or face fines/charges
Fugitive Slave Act
Resisted by the North Required citizens to catch and return runaway slaves
Enraged many in North Forced to support slavery
Some captured “slaves” were really free people
Many white bystanders refused to help officials reclaim fugitives
Underground Railroad Escape system for slaves to reach freedom in the North
“Conductors” would hide and move slaves hundreds of miles
Harriet Tubman: Born in MD as a slave, called “Black Moses” because she led hundreds of slaves to freedom
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, pub. 1852
Ugly description of slavery
Sold 400,000 copies in just a few months Turned many northerners against slavery
Many Southerners (like John C. Calhoun) thought it unfair and argued slavery was a good, not an evil
Presidents of the 1850s
1850: President Zachary Taylor dies of stomach disorder, VP Millard Fillmore becomes President
Stressed flexibility and Compromise
Supported free CA (angered South) and Fugitive Slave Act (angers North)
1852: Parties choose obscure non-sectional candidates Dem. Franklin Pierce won because some Whigs voted for Free-
Soil party (anti-slavery)
Avoided divisive issues
Kansas-Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas
Kansas-Nebraska ActSoutherners blocked statehood applications
K-N Act passed, overriding Missouri Compromise Allowed slavery by “popular sovereignty” only
Resulted in a rush by pro- and anti- slavery settlers, violent confrontations known as
Bleeding KansasNortherners went in to stop
slavery, southerners in to support it
Violence erupted between them (abt 55 people died)
Opposition to slavery led by John Brown and his sons
Sumner-Brooks Debate
Violence on the SENATE FLOOR!
Charles Sumner (Massachusetts) gave an offensive speech about Southerners
Preston Brooks (South Carolina) beat him with a cane Removed temporarily from Senate, but reelected
Sumner got 200+ letters of support, Brooks was sent canes
The Republican Party
Republican Party created 1854 to unifyAnti-slavery Democrats
Anti-Slavery Whigs
Free-Soilers (abolitionist)
Know-Nothings
Believed slavery was immoral and bad for industry
But, Democrat James Buchanan wins 1856 election with the promise to stop conflicts over slavery
Dred Scott v. Sandford(1857)
The Situation: Scott was a slave in Missouri
(slave state). Master brought him with him to
Illinois (free state), and Louisiana Territory (free) for 10 years
When he returned to Missouri, he sued for his freedom.
Supreme Court rules: Slaves aren’t citizens so they
can’t sue Missouri Compromise
Unconstitutional, Congress can’t ban slavery based on 5th
Amendment Can’t deprive people of their
property without due process
Lincoln-DouglasDebates
1858 Senate Race (Illinois)Douglas supported popular sovereignty
“The Union was established on the right of each State to do as it pleased on the question of slavery, and every other question”
Lincoln thought slavery was a moral wrong that should be stopped by Congress
“There is no reason in the world why a negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence… I hold that he is as much entitled to these as a white man”
LINCOLN LOSES, but gains many followers/supporters
Key reason why he will win Presidency in 1860
Harper’s Ferry (1859)
Violent abolitionist John Brown and 21 followers raided US Arsenal in Harper’s Ferry, VA
Brown ends up being caught and executed “The crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away
without very much bloodshed”.
Caused suspicion and rumors of war
Secession and WarRoad to the Civil War
Election of 1860
Northern Democrats: Douglas- Popular Sovereignty
Southern Democrats: Breckenridge- Supported Slavery
Constitutional Unionists: Bell- let things be
Republicans: Abraham Lincoln- no slavery in the territories Was not on ballot in 11 states, but won with 60% electoral vote
The South Secedes
Lincoln only won because the Democratic Party split!
7 states seceded right after Lincoln was elected Led by South Carolina Formed the Confederate States of America
President Jefferson Davis
Lincoln took office and promised not to attack, but to preserve the union.
Attack on Fort Sumter
April 12, 1861
South Carolina ordered the federal (national) Fort to surrender to the Confederate States of America
Union troops refuse to surrender, so Confederates open fire
April 15th, Lincoln calls this an “insurrection” and the Civil War begins
Advantages
Union (North) Confederacy (South)
Population-22 million compared to South’s 9 (and 2/5 of South’s pop. Is slaves!)
Strong Leaders-Gen. Robert E. Lee
Industrialized-Coal and Iron mines-Manufacturing
Defensive War-Resisting Northern Aggression, defending homes
Larger Railroad Network Familiar territory
Navy Short Supply lines