VUS.7a Causes of the Civil War
Mounting sectional tensions and a failure of political will led to the Civil War.
Sectional Debates
Tariffs – Many Southerners opposed tariffs, claiming it as a form of economic imperialism
passed by the North.
Extension of Slavery – Many Southerners supported extension of slavery as a means of
protecting economic interests.
States’ Rights – Many Southerners believed the central government was exercising too much
power, and the states had the right to nullify a law if it harmed a state.
Northern Abolitionists vs Southern supporters of slavery
Many Northerners opposed slavery on moral reasons.
The slave-based agricultural system of the South did not seem “modern”.
Many Southerners relied on slavery as the basis of the large-scale agricultural economy.
Viewing it as a “necessary evil” – and pointing to the hypocrisy of the poor labor class in the
North.
The Dred Scott Decision: 1857
The Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court overturned efforts to limit the spread of slavery.
The court ruled that no black man was a citizen, and that slaves could be taken to free territories
because they were property
This literally nullified the Missouri Compromise Line.
Northerners were outraged!
The Lady Who Started the War
Harriet Beecher Stowe, wife of a New England clergyman, wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a bestselling novel that inflamed Northern abolitionist sentiment.
Southerners were frightened by the growing strength of Northern abolitionism.
The book itself was based on stereotypes and imagination, as Stowe had never been to a
plantation.
Ineffective Leadership
A series of poor Presidents failed to address the sectional issues effectively.
Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan
Failed Compromises
Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act all tried to settle the
issue of slavery in the territories. They failed, worsening the mood of the country.
President Lincoln
Elected to presidency in 1860.
South Carolina and the “deep South” seceded, forming the Confederate States of America.
Lincoln called to raise troops in 1861