The Antebellum Period
The Causes of the Civil War
• Some say simplistically that the Civil War was
fought over slavery.
– Unfortunately, there is no "simple" reason.
• The causes of the war were a complex series
of events, including slavery, that began long
before the first shot was fired.
• These factors could all be listed as significant
contributing factors in America's bloodiest
conflict.
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Competing sectionalism
Political turmoil
The definition of freedom
The fate of slavery
The structures of society and economy
Two Regions, Two Ways of Life
• By 1860, the North and the South had developed into
two very different regions.
• Divergent social, economic, and political points of
view, dating from colonial times, gradually drove the two
sections farther and farther apart.
– Each tried to impose its point of view on the country
as a whole.
• Although compromises had kept the Union together for
many years, in 1860 the situation was explosive.
– MO Compromise, Compromise of 1850…
• The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 as president
was viewed by the South as a threat to slavery and
ignited the war.
Know the Regional Differences:
North
• Economy
• Urban…explain
• Population
• Climate
• Attitudes towards slavery
• Opinion of tariffs
• Opinion of other region
• Other…
South
• Economy
• Rural…explain
• Population
• Climate
• Attitudes towards slavery
• Opinion of tariffs
• Opinion of other region
• Other…
Why did Differences Grow??
• During the 19th century the South remained
almost completely agricultural, with an
economy and a social order largely founded
on slavery and the plantation system.
– These mutually dependent institutions
produced the staples, especially cotton,
from which the South derived its wealth.
Why did Differences Grow??
• The North had its own great agricultural
resources, was always more advanced
commercially, and was also expanding
industrially.
The Institution of Slavery
• Most Southern Whites owned NO slaves
• Most slaves lived on plantations with a
hundred or more slaves
• So, who controlled slavery and antebellum
Southern society?
• Slavery did not benefit most whites, yet
most Southern whites supported the
institution. Why?
Examining Primary Documents
• The Old Plantation -ca. 1800
• What does this painting tell us about slave life?
• What does it obscure?
The Social Structure of Whites
in the Antebellum South
Large Planters (100+ Slaves)
Small Planters (20-100 Slaves)
Small Yeoman Farmers (Largest White Group)
Mountain Whites (Mostly Isolated from Plantation Society
Poor Whites (Often Tenants or Day Laborers)
Large Planters
• Best education
• Political and social
leaders
• Employ overseers to
run plantations
• Smallest group
• Emphasize chivalry,
honor, and hospitality
Small Planters
• Many more than large planters, but still a
relatively small social group
• Some political power
• Generally do not employ overseers
• Aspire to rise to the class of large planters,
but the expense of slaves generally
prevents this
Yeoman Farmers
• Some own a few
slaves
• Raise a variety of
crops
• Largest white group
• Could vote/hold office
• Strong supporters of
slavery
• Aspire to rise to
planter class
Mountain Whites
• Live isolated in
Appalachian Mtns.
• Self-sufficient farmers
• Nationalists who
oppose the power of
the planters and the
slavery system
• Most fight for the
Union in the Civil War
Poor Whites
• Rarely own land
• Work as tenants or day
laborers
• Looked down on by most
other whites
• Tend to refuse “slave”
work
• Health problems and
malnutrition common
• Strong supporters of
slavery
Conditions of Slavery
• About 4 million slaves in the antebellum
South at slavery’s peak
• Most live in separate slave quarters on
plantations
• Maintain families, religion, and traditions
despite slavery
• Labor systems: gang and task system
• Have no legal rights
The Social Structure of Blacks
in the Antebellum South
House Servants
Slave Drivers (made other slaves work)
Skilled Craftsmen (Some worked in cities)
Field Hands (Largest Group)
The Slave Trade
• The Middle Passage was
a devastating and
dangerous experience
• Slaves were packed
tightly into ships. Many
died of disease.
• The U.S. ended the
international slave trade
in 1808, though illegal
smuggling did continue
Southern Defense of Slavery
• Early on, slavery was generally viewed by
white Southerners as a necessary evil, but
as it came under increasing attacks
nationally, Southerners began to defend
the “peculiar institution” as a positive good
in society
• Defenders include Thomas Dew, George
McDuffy, John C. Calhoun, and William J.
Grayson
Separation of Families
Slave Quarters
Physical Torture
• The use of physical
punishment was
common, though
generally not as brutal as
in the Caribbean
• One slave might be
singled out for
punishment to serve as
an object lesson to others
• Women faced the added
threat of rape by masters
Slave Resistance to Abuse
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Working slowly
Sabotaging tools and machinery
Feigning illness
Running away for brief periods or
permanently
• Self-mutilation
• Suicide and infanticide
Slave Rebellion
• Slave revolts were uncommon in the United
States, though whites feared them greatly
• The lack of a population majority as well as
the lack of a place to go in case of successful
rebellion tended to lessen the tendency toward
rebellion
• Slave codes became much more restrictive in
the South whenever a rebellion occurred,
especially after the successful revolt on San
Domingue (Haiti) led by Toussaint L’Overture
Reward Poster
Free Blacks Always Faced the
Danger of Being Returned to Slavery
Gabriel’s Rebellion-1800
Virginia
• Gabriel Prosser planned an
assault on the Richmond
armory to arm themselves and
destroy slavery in Virginia
• After the Revolution many
slaves had greater freedom of
movement, especially those
like Gabriel who worked on the
water
• Gabriel’s plan was given away
by a fellow slave before the
revolt could take place, and
Gabriel and the other leaders
of the plot were executed
Denmark Vesey-1822
• Born in Africa, he
purchased his freedom
after winning $1500 in a
lottery
• He organized about 9000
others in the black
community to revolt in
Charleston, SC
• The plot was given away
before it could go forward
and Vesey and over 40
others (including 4
whites) were hanged
Nat Turner-1831
• A preacher among the slave
population of Southampton,
Virginia
• Had a series of visions of two
armies clashing in the sky and took
this as a sign that he should lead a
rebellion to destroy slavery
• Led his followers in a surprise
attack on slaveholding families,
beginning with his own masters
• Over 60 whites were killed in the
insurrection, most of them hacked
to death with machetes
• After spending several months
hiding in the Dismal Swamp,
Turner and his followers were
captured, tried, and executed
Fear of Slave Revolts Greatly Increases and
Slave Codes are Made More Restrictive in
the Wake of the “Massacre”
“The Confessions of Nat Turner”
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• Harriet Beecher Stowe’s
bestseller
– Best seller in 1850’s
(Most sales after the
Bible)
– Northerner bought it in
droves
– Southerners burned it
and banned it
• Storyline:
– Eliza Harris, a slave,
escapes when her child is
to be sold
• The kindly Uncle Tom is sold
and is killed by his brutal
master, Simon Legree
Arguments Used in Defense of
Slavery
• The master/servant relationship is familial, like a
parent/child relationship (patriarchal system)
• The Bible accepts slavery
• Slavery existed in the great historical civilizations
like Greece and Rome
• Slavery is God’s will because slaves are suited
to their condition
• Slaves are happy
• The system of slavery allows young, old, and
sick slaves to be cared for
Major Arguments Used Against
Slavery
• Slavery is in opposition to the founding ideals of
the United States: democracy, equality, liberty
• The Declaration of Independence says “All men
are created equal.”
• Slavery is a violation of basic human rights
• Slavery is immoral
• Slavery allows for the commission of horrendous
physical abuse
• The Bible abhors slavery (esp. New Testament)
John Brown’s Raid
• 1859, John Brown and
his men attacked the
federal arsenal at
Harper’s Ferry, Virginia
(Today West Virginia)
• Wanted to lead an
rebellion and slave
uprising
• Colonel Robert E. Lee
leads troops; Brown is
captured and executed for
treason.
Senate Violence
• Senator Charles
Sumner, a Republican,
attacked Southerners
for slavery
• Preston Brooks beat
him with his cane
• Sumner lived but never
recovered
• The event added to the
growing hatred
between the two
regions
The Road to Succession
• Controversial Legislation
• The Birth of new Political
Parties
• Supreme Court cases
• The Election of 1860
– Lincoln
• Armed resistance
• Succession by South
Carolina
Election of 1848
• Democrats:
Lewis Cass
• Whigs: Zachary
Taylor (hero of
Mexican War)
• Free Soil Party
took votes away
from Cass to give
Taylor the victory
• Taylor dies in
1850; Millard
Fillmore takes
office
Compromise of 1850
1. Admit CA as free state
2. Territories of New Mexico and Utah decide
for themselves
3. Abolish sale of slaves in Washington, D.C.
4. Slavery remained legal in Washington, D.C.
5. Fugitive Slave Act: all citizens must assist in
the return of runaway slaves to owners; no
jury trial for slaves
Major Players in Congress
• Henry Clay
proposes the
compromise
• Daniel
Webster
supported it
• John C.
Calhoun
opposed it
Kansas-Nebraska Act
• Stephen Douglas of Illinois
wanted to run for President
• Act supported popular
sovereignty for area
• Passed but made North
angry
Violence Begins
• Free Soilers
– 1,200 New
Englanders sent to
Kansas to fight
against slavery
• Proslavery settlers
opposed them
• 1856, open
violence
Two Capital Cities
• The Free Soil capital was in Topeka,
Kansas
• Proslavery capital was in Lecompton,
Kansas
Lecompton Constitution
• A proslavery
constitution for
Kansas
• President Buchanan
accepted it, but
Congress returned
it.
• Defeated by Kansas
people
SECTION I.
The right of property is
before and higher than
any constitutional
sanction, and the right of
the owner of a slave to
such slave and its
increase is the same, and
as inviolable as the right of
the owner of any property
whatever.
“Bleeding Kansas”
• John Brown
– Following a raid in
Lawrence by a
proslavery group,
he and his
followers killed
five proslavery
men
• Summer of
murder and raids
Two New Political Parties
in 1850’s
– Republicans
• Opposed to slavery
• Ran John Fremont for
president in 1856
– Know-Nothings
• (against Immigrants
Irish Catholics)
• wanted native
Americans to have best
treatment
Republican Party
• Comprised of
antislavery Democrats,
Whigs, and Free Soilers
from North
• Small business owners,
craftworkers, farmers,
professionals
• Dedicated to stopping
“Slave Power”
• Demanded repeal of the
Kansas-Nebraska Act
and Fugitive Slave Act
Election of 1852
• The Whig party loses
voters
• Election of 1852:
Franklin Pierce, a
Democrat, defeats
General Winfield Scott,
a Whig
• The American or KnowNothing Party: a
nativist group against
immigrants split the vote
Election of 1856
• Democrats
nominated James
Buchanan
• Republicans
nominated John
C. Fremont
• Know-Nothings
chose Millard
Fillmore
Buchanan
• Buchanan wins the election
• He hoped that the Supreme Court
would use its power to resolve the
slavery issue.
• Next decision angers the North
even more
Dred Scott v. Sandford 1857
• Scott sued his owner and said
that he and his wife were taken
to states and territories where
slavery was illegal and should
be free
• The Court ruled 7 to 2 against
Scott
– Said slaves are not citizens and
cannot sue in court
– Scott was not free due to being in
free area
• The Missouri Compromise was
also declared unconstitutional
Border States
• Delaware
• Maryland
• Kentucky
• Missouri
Abraham Lincoln
• Studied law and
worked at various
jobs
• Served in the
Congress in the
1840s
• Believed that the
majority could not
deny the minority
their rights
• Foresaw
confrontation
Stephen Douglas
• Believed that the
majority of people
could do anything
they wished, even
make slavery legal
• Gets gets national
attention
•
Lincoln-Douglas
Debates
The two men
campaign for a
Senate seat in
Illinois
• They hold a series
of seven debates on
the issue of slavery
in the territories.
• Douglas wins
election but Lincoln
becomes important
Republican
politician
The Election of 1860
In April 1860, Democratic Party
split into North and South
factions
In Border States, the
Constitutional Union party
forms from Whigs and
American party (Know Nothing)
Candidates in 1860
• Southern Democrats: John C.
Breckinrigde
• Northern Democrats: Stephen Douglas,
Illinois
• Constitutional Union party: John Bell,
Tennessee
• Republican party: Abraham Lincoln,
Illinois
And the winner was…
• Lincoln wins with 39% of the vote and
180 electoral votes
– A sectional victory
– Hadn’t even been on southern ballots!!
Lincoln’s
First
Inauguration
Timeline of Secession
South Carolina seceded December 20,
1860 after Lincoln’s election
• Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South
Carolina secede soon after
In February 1861, the states created the
Confederacy and elected Jefferson
Davis as President
The Civil War Begins
Lincoln takes
office on March 4,
1861
Vows to enforce
the laws of the
U.S. and to
preserve, protect,
and defend the
Union
Fort Sumter
Federal fort located
in Charleston
Harbor
Had run out of
supplies
April 12 General
P.G.T. Beauregard
fires on the fort on
April 12, 1861
The fort surrenders
to SC forces
The war begins
Brother Against
Brother…
Virginia, North Carolina,
Tennessee, and Arkansas
joined the Confederacy
Border States stayed neutral
Northern states started
recruitment for federal soldiers
And…thus the Civil War began
• One nation was divided into two parts…
and for many nothing was ever the same
again.