Slavery
The Cause of the Civil War
How about a Recap?
The Constitution and Slavery
 The Constitution does not mention slaves or slavery
directly, but does detail that slaves are counted as 3/5 of a
person in the 3/5 Compromise.
 The government was also given the power to restrict the
slave trade.
The North v. The South
Northern Economy Focused on Industry,
While Southern Economy Focused on Agriculture.
The North v. The South
Both sides had their differences…
And eventually…
The Civil War was
fought for a variety of
reasons, however,
SLAVERY was the
prominent cause for
the violence.
But how can we know?
Take for example… the
cotton gin…
The cotton gin made
cotton more profitable
and consequently made
slaves and slaveholders
explode in numbers.
Slave Growth After Cotton Gin
Here, the
growth is
apparent!
Slave Population Before Cotton Gin
Dramatic increase in slave population
after Cotton Gin’s invention
Profitability increased
Production
The
magnitude
of growth
shown after
cotton gin’s
invention.
Southern
Comfort…
As stated before, the
South’s economy was
rooted in agriculture. This
was only cemented once it
became a cotton hot spot
fueled by overworked
slaves.
Cotton Shipping
Points in White.
Not all the Blame
Belongs to the Cotton Gin…
The Kansas Nebraska
Act
Did its fair share of instigating too!
The Kansas-Nebraska
Act further ignited the
violence and hate
surrounding the fiercely
divided sides of the
slavery issue.
Bleeding Kansas
The fiercely divided
opinions led to
drastic violence in
the territory, earning
it the nickname
“Bleeding Kansas”.
Political Cartoonists joked, but the
violence was no laughing matter.
What was soon to
come was much
worse…
The Raid on
Harper’s Ferry by
John Brown and
his men was the
culmination of
violence that
followed the
Kansas-Nebraska
Act.
John Brown
and his men
took up arms
in order to
cause a slave
revolution.
This however
proved
unsuccessful
and resulted in
SEVEN Captured Men…
FIVE Escaped Men…
TEN killed men.
Including John Brown’s sons.
This Wasn’t All..
Many more things resulted from
slavery…
Including…The Strong
Reaction to Uncle
Tom’s Cabin
A revolutionary book on slavery
This book gave a
new perspective on
slavery, one the
public had never
seen before. This
horrified many…
Written by Harriet
Beecher Stowe,
Uncle Tom’s
Cabin helped to
change public
opinion on
slavery for some,
leading to a
stronger call for
slavery’s end.
According to legend,
Abraham Lincoln greeted
Harriet Beecher Stowe in
1862 by saying "So you're
the little woman who wrote
the book that started this
great war." Whether the
story is true or not, the
sentiment underscores the
public connection between
Uncle Tom's Cabin and the
Civil War.”
For these reasons, and more,
it is apparent:
slavery was the cause of
the Civil War.
Credits:
Creator: Liz Teubert
Kelly, Martin. "What Does the Constitution Say
About slavery?" About.com American History.
About.com, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2012.
<http://americanhistory.about.com/od/usconstitut
ion/f/slavery.htm>.
"Impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Slavery, and the
Civil War." The National and International Impact of
Uncle Tom's Cabin. Harriet Beecher Stowe Center,
n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/utc/i
mpact.shtml>.
Reynolds, William. "Political Map of the United
States." Map. American Memory. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N.
pag. Print.