And the War Came

Causes of the Civil War

The Civil War was caused by a myriad of conflicting pressures, principles, and prejudices, fueled by sectional differences and pride, and set into motion by a most unlikely set of political events.

ReviewMissouri Compromise (1821)

Missouri Slave State Maine Free 36 30

ReviewSectionalism

“…you want by an unjust system of legislation to promote the industry of the United States at the expense of the people of the South.” –Jefferson Davis (As a senator of Mississippi)

There, in plain English, is the shrill, accusatory language of sectionalism.

Compromise of 1850

Admitted CA as a free stateDivided the rest of the Mexican Cession

into two territories (New Mexico and Utah) to be determined by popular sovereignty.

Abolished slave trade in Washington D.C.

Compromise of 1850

Fugitive Slave Act (1850) Federal Crime to assist runaway slavesAuthorized the arrest of slaves even in

states where slavery was illegal

Abolitionists MovementMovement to abolish (END) slaveryGains strength in the 1850’s

Frederick Douglass Fugitive Slave from MarylandGave detailed descriptions of his life as

a slave in speeches in the North

Harriet Tubman: “Moses of her People”

Helped runaway slaves escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad

William Lloyd Garrison Published the Abolitionist Newspaper, “The Liberator” Holding aloft a copy of the Federal Constitution

before a crowd in Massachusetts he stated it was “a covenant with death, and an agreement with hell.”

Harriet Beecher Stowe Wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” A book depicting the cruelty of slavery

(sold more than 2 million copies in the 1850’s)

While some in the North hated slavery because they felt that it was wrong, most people held no opinion of it at all, and some even condoned it because abolishing it would be bad for business. Without slaves there would be no cotton. Without cotton the textile industry would suffer. To many it was just that simple.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) Organized the two territories on the basis of

“popular sovereignty” Repealed the Missouri Compromise Resulted in “Bleeding Kansas” 1)      700 pro-slavery raiders attack free

settlers in Lawrence, Kansas destroying property

2)      Anti-slavery group led by abolitionist John Brown brutally murdered 5 pro-slavery men

Blames the Democrats for violence against antislavery settlers in Kansas after the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Bearded "freesoiler" is bound to the "Democratic Platform"

Force a black man into the giant's gaping mouth. The freesoiler's head rests on a platform marked "Kansas," "Cuba," and "Central America," referring to Democratic ambitions for the extension of slavery. In the background left is a scene of burning and pillage; on the right a dead man hangs from a tree.

“The Caning of Charles Sumner” Senator Charles Sumner delivered a

speech against slavery in the Kansas Territory

Sumner is beaten with a cane by Representative Preston Brooks on the Senate floor. Brooks beats Sumner with such force that he breaks his cane over the head of Sumner.

Dred Scott Supreme Court Case Chief Justice Roger Taney rules that

slaves cannot sue in Federal Court because they were not citizens.

Taney also ruled that slavery should be allowed to spread West.                    

John Brown at Harper’s Ferry: Seizes the Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry,

Virginia. Goal is to arm slaves to rise up against owners.

Colonel Robert E. Lee of the United States Army kills half of Brown’s men

Brown is convicted of “murder, criminal conspiracy, and treason.”

Brown was hung on December 2, 1859. Northerners saw Brown as a hero. Southerners viewed him as a traitor.

Lincoln-Douglass Debates Lincoln: Member of the new Republican Party,

Moderate, Believed Constitution protected slavery but not it expanding into new areas.

Douglass: Democratic party, splits badly and has a southern candidate and a Northern candidate.

                                 

Election of Lincoln (1860) Lincoln was seen by the South as an anti-slavery

President. They called him a “friend of John Brown.” Before he took office 7 southern states (South

Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas) seceded from the Union.

Current President (Buchanan) felt powerless and in the four months before Lincoln took office the South had taken all southern arsenals without a shot being fired.

Firing on Fort SumterOn April 12, 1861, Southern rebel

forces fired on a federal outpost, Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. Immediately, the Southern states of Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina seceded and joined the Confederates.