Unit 5
Causes of the Civil War
3 VIEWS OF SLAVERY
• Humanitarian Crisis
• Abolitionist idea that slavery needs to
end immediately due to its
immorality. Most other players on the
playground have.
• What region would most strongly
support this argument about slavery?
Moral Evil
• Necessary Evil  Why?
• Supported by those who agree that though slavery is
morally wrong it is the most efficient economically.
Necessary Evil
• Myth of the Happy Slave – Positive Good
Positive Good
• Sectionalism
• Growing differences/disagreements between North and
South
• Slavery
• States’ Rights
• Can states nullify federal laws? How powerful should
federal government be? What rights do states have to
protect from federal tyranny?
Long Term Causes
• Stated slavery could not exist in areas
acquired from Mexican American
War
• California, Utah, and New Mexico
closed to slavery forever
• Would shift balance of power to
North
• Did not pass
Wilmot Proviso
• New CA constitution
outlawed slavery
• Applied for statehood in
1849
California Statehood
• Slaves who escaped
South were not entitled
to trial by jury
• Slaves must return to
owners if caught
Fugitive Slave Act
Compromise of 1850
Most intense debate in U.S. History
•John C. Calhoun
•North should honor the Constitution
and enforce the Fugitive Slave Law
•South wanted California
•Threatened to secede from U.S.
(dead horse)
•U.S. should have two Presidents--one from the North and one for the
South
•Daniel Webster
•Henry Clay
•The Great Compromiser, with
John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster
and Stephen Douglas, propose
this compromise.
•Secession is impractical &
impossible
•How would we split the land?
•The military?
•Compromise at all cost
•Preserve the Union
• Compromise of 1850 kept the nation semi-peaceful for
several years…until short term causes brought issues up
again.
Effects of Compromise of
1850
SHORT TERM CAUSES
• Bill that proposed dividing Kansas and Nebraska into two
areas
• Would repeal Missouri Compromise and establish
popular sovereignty
• Proposed by Stephen Douglas
• Became law in 1854
Kansas-Nebraska Act
• Kansas (free) held elections for legislature
• Missouri citizens entered Kansas armed to vote
• Missouri citizens made up the majority and passed pro
slavery laws
• Lawrence, KS founded by antislavery groups
• Legislators ordered arrest of Lawrence citizens
• 800 armed men stormed Lawrence and burned town
• Fights triggered by revolts
Bleeding Kansas
• “conductor” of the Underground
Railroad
• Made 19 trips between North and
South
• Helped over 300 slaves escape
• Guided by the North Star
Harriet Tubman
• Written by Harriet Beecher
Stowe, a white woman from
Connecticut
• South saw it as an attack
• Fueled Northern abolitionist
protests
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• Ruled slaves were property and could be taken anywhere
by owner
Dred Scott v. Sandford
• Abolitionist who believed it was God’s purpose for him
to fight slavery
• Went to Pottawatomie Creek and captured proslavery
men
• Martyr for North; terrorist for South
John Brown’s Raid
• Sumner (North) makes
speech in Senate
• Sneered at Brooks’
(South) cousin
• Brooks canes Sumner
• Accused him of libel on
SC and his cousin
Brooks-Sumner Incident
• The Whig Party (1834-1854)
• Divided over the following:
•
•
•
•
Slavery
Fugitive Slave Act
Compromise of 1850
Kansas – Nebraska Act
• Dies in 1854
• Members join other parties
Political Parties
• Free-Soil Party (1844-Civil War)
• Not all abolitionist
• But against slavery in the territories
• #1 Goal
• Prevent labor competition from slave labor
• Many were
• Racists who did not want blacks in their communities
• Know Nothing Party (1849-1854)
• AKA American Party
• Belief in
• Nativism
• Anti-immigrant
• Anti-Catholic
• Split over slavery
• Republican Party (1854-present)
• Umbrella party, members agreed on
• Prohibiting slavery in the territories
• Included
•
•
•
•
•
Free soilers
antislavery Whigs and Democrats
Nativists
Abolitionists
Reform & expansion groups
• In groups, you will write a 60 second “elevator pitch” to
sway someone to join your party.
• Pitches should persuade someone to join your party, support
your beliefs/agenda, be concise, exciting, and interesting.
You’re trying to “sell” your ideas in a short period of time!
• Your elevator pitch should be memorized. One person will
present this. Time it and practice!
• In addition, your group should also create a symbol to
represent your party and its beliefs.
• This symbol should be neat and colored.
• A 5 sentence description should accompany your symbol
explaining what each part of it means and how it is relevant
to your party.
Assignment
• Abraham Lincoln v. Stephen Douglas
competing for Senate seat
• Douglas supported popular sovereignty
• Lincoln spoke and referenced morality
as reasons to oppose the Dred Scott
decision, popular sovereignty, etc. but
did not support equal rights between
whites and African Americans
• Douglas eventually wins
• People began to follow and support
Lincoln
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Abraham
Lincoln
• Republican
• From Illinois
• Platform:
Slavery must
not be allowed
in the
territories.
Stephen Douglas
•
•
•
Northern
Democrat
From Illinois
Platform:
Popular
sovereignty
should decide if
the issue of
slavery in the
territories when
they become
states.
John Bell
John
Breckinridge
• Constitutional • Southern
Unionist
Democrat
• From
• From
Tennessee
Kentucky
• Platform: The • Platform: The
federal
federal
government
government
should support
must protect
slavery and
slavery.
also defend the
Union.
1860 Candidates
• Lincoln wins
• Southern vote splits between democrats
• Lincoln is not on Southern ballots, so South feels like
they have no say in American politics
• South Carolina secedes that December
Election of 1860