A Dividing Nation:
Key Events that Caused the Civil War
Industrial vs. Agricultural Economy
North
– Iron ore & coal resources
– industrial /manufacturing economy
– Relied on European immigrants for labor
South
- cash crops (tobacco / cotton)- due to geography
- agricultural economy
- relied on African American slave labor
**Different economy/labor= different views on slavery
States Rights vs. Federal Power
North
• Power of federal gov’t more important than
states rights
• national unity a priority
South
• States’ Rights Theory
• States have right not to obey federal law if
unconstitutional or against state laws
• Preserve power of states over federal gov’t
*Different views on the power of government
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
• A law that outlined the process for forming
new states in the Northwest Territory.
• Banned slavery north of the Ohio River
• Result of this law=
Ohio, Indiana & Illinois become free states
Missouri Compromise of 1820
Problem=
• Missouri applies to become a slave state
• Threat to 11/11 balance of free vs. slave states
• Most of Missouri north of Ohio River= contradicts
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
• Maine wants to enter union as a free state
Solution=
• Henry Clay crafts a compromise• Missouri= slave
Maine= free
• Congress creates imaginary line- 36-30’ Latitude
• North of line- slavery banned (Except Missouri)
• South of line- slavery permitted
- Missouri admitted as a slave state
- Maine admitted as a free state
- All Louisiana Territory north of the
36‘ 30” line closed to slavery
Abolitionist Movement- 1830s
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2nd Great Awakening- inspired people to end slavery
William Lloyd Garrison- anti-slavery paper- Liberator- 1831
Nat Turner- leader of brutal slave rebellion in 1831
Opposition to Movement= “Gag Rule”- 1836
- Congress voted to prohibit discussion of anti-slavery petitions- silence
slave debates- violates 1st Amendment
- Kept slavery issue out of Congress for 10 years
• Frederick Douglass- Abolitionist Movement Leader- 1840s
• Harriet Tubman- Underground Railroad- 1850s
• Harriet Beecher Stowe- author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin -1852
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
Wilmot Proviso- 1846
• Pres. James Polk sent a bill to Congress
requesting $$ for war with Mexico
• Penn. Representative David Wilmot added an
amendment to the bill= Wilmot Proviso
- Slavery shall never exist in any part of the
territory that might be acquired from Mexico
- Southerners opposed- Congress had no right to
determine where slaveholders could take
PROPERTY
- Wilmot Proviso passed House, but NOT Senate
Compromise of 1850
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Created by Henry Clay (KY Senator)
Supported by Daniel Webster (MA Senator)
California admitted as free state- upset balance
Utah/New Mexico territory- open to slavery
No more slave TRADE in Washington D.C.
Fugitive Slave Law- strengthened & enforced
- return runaway slaves & help slave catchers
- jail time for not aiding slave catchers
Kansas-Nebraska Act- 1854
• Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas wanted to get a
railroad built to California. He supported opening
the Great Plains into Nebraska territory for
settlement.
• Kansas & Nebraska territory were formed
- slave status would be determined by vote
• Violated Missouri Compromise (36-30’ line)
• Sparked an increase in population and a Civil War
in Kansas= “Bleeding Kansas”
- people in same state were divided
Dred Scott Decision-1857
• Scott was taken to a non-slave state by his
owner- he sued for his freedom given his new
residence in a non-slave state
• Supreme Court determined:
– Slaves are PROPERTY not citizens- can’t sue in court
– Missouri Compromise declared unconstitutional
- Ruling based on 5th Amend. – property can’t be
taken without due process of law
John Brown’s Raid- 1859
• Brown was an abolitionist who led a revolt
with the goal of ending slavery
• Lead a group of 21 men on a raid of the
federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, VA to gain
weapons to arms slaves in the revolt
• He and his men were caught during the raid
• Brown was charged with treason and
sentenced to death for his actions
Election of 1860 & Secession
Political parties
• Republican- anti-slavery- Lincoln
• Democratic-pro-slavery - Douglas (North)
- Breckinridge (South)
• Constitutional Union Party- centrist- Bell
Results/Effects
• Lincoln won a majority of electoral college votes but only
40% of the popular vote (all from North)
• Election results indicated that the South didn’t have the
power to control national policies/laws
• After the election, South Carolina seceded from the Union
in December of 1860