Reaching the Breaking Point
Unit 6, Lesson 4
Essential Idea
• The United States broke apart after Abraham
Lincoln was elected in 1860, and his effort to
preserve the Union started the Civil War.
Republican Party
Platform
•
•
•
•
1860:
Election of 1860
Details:
Republicans did not
want slavery to
expand to the West
• Lincoln was NOT an
abolitionist, but also
did NOT want slavery
to expand
The Breaking
Point: Election of
1860
• Southerners saw
Lincoln as an
enemy and would
not even put his
name on the ballot
• However, Lincoln
won EVERY state in
the North and West
and won the
election
The Union Begins to Break
• Reactions:
• The South felt it
had no power
left in the
federal
government
• Southern states
began seceding
(breaking away)
from the
United States to
form their own
country
Secession
•
•
•
•
1861:
Secession Begins
Details:
South Carolina seceded from the
United States first in late 1860
• By the time Lincoln was sworn
into office, the seven states in the
“lower South,” had seceded
• Confederate States of America—
these states formed this new
government (the Confederacy)
• Jefferson Davis was president of
the Confederacy
•
A Last Ditch Effort
•
•
•
•
•
1861:
Crittenden Compromise
Details:
Crittenden Compromise—this last ditch effort proposed bringing back the Missouri Compromise
line and extending it to the West coast
It failed because Lincoln refused to violate his promise to keep slavery from spreading west
Lincoln becomes President
• 1861:
• Fort Sumter
Attacked
• Details:
• By Lincoln’s
inauguration, the
Confederacy
claimed federal
forts in the South
• Lincoln Elected
Showdown at Fort Sumter
• Lincoln decided
to resupply
Fort Sumter,
located on an
island off the
coast of South
Carolina
• South Carolina
claimed the
fort belonged
to the
Confederacy
Fort Sumter Attacked
• When Fort Sumter refused to surrender, South Carolina
bombed the fort
• Using violence and force, South Carolina captured Fort
Sumter
• Result:
• The Civil War began
• Fort Sumter
Losing the Upper South
• The Upper South
Secedes:
• After Fort Sumter fell,
Lincoln called on all
states to send him
troops
• This forced states to
choose a side—the
Union or the
Confederacy
• “Upper South” states,
including Virginia and
North Carolina, chose
to secede and join the
Confederacy
• Richmond, Virginia
became the capital of
the Confederacy
Keeping the Border States
• Keeping the Border
States:
• Border States—formed
the border between the
North and South that
had slavery but had not
seceded
• Lincoln was desperate to
keep the border states
from seceding,
especially Maryland
• If Maryland seceded,
Washington, D.C. would
be surrounded by
Confederate states
(Maryland and Virginia)
Keeping the Border States
• Violating the
Constitution?
• To keep Maryland,
Lincoln imposed
martial law and held
supervised elections
• Marylanders who
spoke of secession
were put in jail without
a trial
• Many felt Lincoln
violated the
Constitution to keep
Maryland
Review of the Causes of the Civil War
• 1. Federal Power
• Southerners felt the federal government had too much power over the
states
• Federal plans like Hamilton’s Financial Plan, the American System, BUS
were hated by southern states
• Southerners thought a strong federal government could take away the
states’ “right” to slavery
• Many southern states believed in “nullification”
Review of the Causes of the Civil War
• 2. Vision for Country
• The North favored manufacturing and commerce but the South favored a
cotton-based economy
• Federal tariffs protected northern businesses but hurt southerners
• The “Tariff of Abominations” caused the Nullification Crisis
Review of the Causes of the Civil War
• 3. Westward Expansion
• As the country expanded,
the North and South
contended over making
new states free or slave
• The Louisiana Purchase,
the Oregon Treaty, the
Annexation of Texas, and
the Mexican War brought
in new land
• Compromises like the
Missouri Compromise and
Compromise of 1850
ultimately failed
Legal Status of Slavery from 1776 to 1860
Review of the
Causes of the
Civil War
• 4. Slavery
• Over time, the North
and South grew more
divided over slavery
• The Second Great
Awakening,
abolitionist
movement, Fugitive
Slave Act, Uncle
Tom’s Cabin, KansasNebraska Act, and
Republican party
contributed to this
divide
Review of the
Causes of the
Civil War
• 5. Election of Lincoln
• When Republican
Lincoln was elected,
the South saw him as
a threat to slavery
• Southern states
“nullified” the
election by seceding
from the Union
• Lincoln’s effort to stop
secession led to
violence, starting the
Civil War
Purpose of the Civil War
• Purpose of the Civil War:
• Lincoln’s purpose of the Civil War was to PRESERVE THE UNION
• Lincoln’s purpose was NOT to end slavery, at first