The Road to the Civil WarNorth vs South

1818 Missouri asks to join the Union as a slave state1820 Maine asks to join the Union as a free state1820 Henry Clay proposes the MISSOURI COMPROMISE which maintains the balance of power in Congress

The Road to the Civil WarNorth vs South

• 1800-1850’s The Northern and the Southern economies take different paths

• The Northern economy is based on trade and manufacturing

• The Southern economy is based on agriculture(cotton mainly) and the institution of slavery

The Road to the Civil WarNorth vs South

• By 1845, Americans had settled Texas and the Oregon Country by the thousands

• 1846 The US and Great Britain compromise to avoid war and divide the Oregon Country

• 1846-1848 War with Mexico begins/US wins Texas and what would become Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and parts of Colorado. U.S. also buys California

• MANIFEST DESTINY fulfilled

The Road to the Civil WarNorth vs South

• Compromise of 1850– Henry Clay addresses problem of what to do with land

acquired from Mexican-American War(free or slave?)

The Road to the Civil WarNorth vs South

• Compromise of 1850– Allowed California to enter as a free state– Allowed Utah and New Mexico to decide for

themselves, free or slave– Called for a stronger fugitive slave law that forced

northerners to return runaway slaves– Passed Congress by a narrow margin

The Road to the Civil WarNorth vs South

• Kansas-Nebraska Act• Question of Free or Slave to be decided by

Popular Sovereignty; a vote by the residents of the territories

The Road to the Civil WarNorth vs South

• Abraham Lincoln(Republican and anti-slavery) elected President

• Southern states secede

The Road to the Civil WarNorth vs South

• Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC