A Nation Divides Causes of The American Civil War

Objective: I can understand the events that led up to the Civil War Sectionalism and States’ Rights Tariff Compromise of 1850 Harriet Beecher Stowe Kansas-Nebraska Act Dred Scott Decision Raid on Harper’s Ferry Election of 1860

SECTIONALISM AND STATES’ RIGHTS

SECTIONALISM: Instead of looking at the nation as a whole, southerners, westerners and northerners began to identify themselves regionally and not as Americans. So, the people would put the needs of their region over the needs of the nation.

States’ Rights Southern states felt state laws carried more weight than federal laws and therefore, state laws should be followed first. In addition, they argued that the federal government only has limited power under the 10 th amendment.

Protective Tariffs A Tariff is a tax placed on goods imported from foreign countries. Tariff of 1816 – placed a 20-25% tax on all foreign goods Tariff of There was 35% duty on imported iron, wool, cotton, and hemp. Tariff of Taxes increased to nearly 50% (Tariff of Abomination)

Who benefitted from the protective tariffs? Who opposed them? Why? Think about this: The 1828 Tariff of Abominations was the third protective tariff implemented by the government. The protective tariffs taxed all foreign goods, to boost the sales of US products and protect Northern manufacturers from cheap British goods.

Compromise of 1850 California is admitted as a free-state. Washington DC abolishes slave trade Texas boundaries are established Fugitive Slave Act- Northern states had to enforce the return of run-away-slaves Popular Sovereignty- slavery in the Mexican Cession lands is decided by popular sovereignty. o

Fugitive Slave Act Required Northerners to return runaway slaves to their masters. Made the Federal government responsible for catching slaves and trying them before “special commissioners”. The slaves could not speak and the commissioners were paid more if they returned the slave to the south.

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Impact Few novels in American history have grabbed the public spotlight and caused as great an uproar as Uncle Tom's Cabin. Across the north, readers became acutely aware of the horrors of slavery on a far more personal level than ever before. In the south the book was met with outrage and branded an irresponsible book of distortions and overstatements. watch?v=DJaUccnqUl8 Sold 300,000 copies in the first year. 2 million in a decade!

Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854

Slave or Free? Introduced by Stephen Douglas, the act would allow the settlers of the proposed states to decide by voting (popular sovereignty) whether it would be slave or free. This abandoned the Missouri Compromise of Pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups flooded Kansas to influence the vote.

“ Bleeding Kansas” Elections put BOTH anti- slavery AND pro-slavery governments in charge of Kansas. May 1856, Kansas exploded in violence: Lawrence was attacked by pro-slavery groups and anti-slavery groups committed revenge killings. By Fall of 1856, over 200 people had been killed in Kansas. om/watch?v=7tJ0ZjRx Khs

Dred Scott Decision Dred Scott v Sanford (1857)

Dred Scott Case Dred Scott sued for his freedom on the basis that he lived in Illinois (a free state) and the Wisconsin Territory (free) for years. The case went before the Supreme Court, which could use the case to rule on slavery in the territories….

The Court’s Decision : Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled that Dred Scott was still a slave, therefore not a citizen, and not even allowed to bring a lawsuit to the court. Living on free soil did not make someone free, and slaves were property. Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in the U.S. territories because that would amount to taking away a person’s property without “due process of law”. PQ

Reaction to the Dred Scott Decision : Southerners were elated by the Supreme Court ruling that preventing slavery’s spread was unconstitutional. Republicans and other anti-slavery groups were outraged and called it “the greatest crime” ever committed. They vowed to win the presidency, appoint new justices and overturn the decision.

Raid on Harper’s Ferry

John Brown’s Plans An abolitionist, John Brown planned to raid the federal arsenal (storage place for weapons and ammunition) in Harper’s Ferry Virginia. He planned to distribute the weapons to enslaved people for rebellion.

October 16, 1859 John Brown and 21 men, including two of his sons, stormed into the arsenal and a rifle maker’s shop and took 60 hostages. Brown was wounded when Marines under Colonel Robert E. Lee ended the stand-off. Both of Brown’s sons were killed.

John Brown was tried, found guilty, and executed.

Click for video: browns- raid?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false

Election of 1860

Lincoln Wins! Lincoln won a majority of the votes, even though he did not appear on the ballot in most Southern states. He won every Northern state. He won 180 of 303 electoral votes, but only 40% of the popular vote.

Three weeks later: South Carolina votes to secede, or leave, the United States on December 20, 1860 They were joined by Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia to form the Confederate States of America. WAR HAD BEGUN

Some additional information that will help you understand this time period

Frederick Douglass Born a slave in Maryland, Douglass escaped, became a lecturer for the anti- slavery cause and published an abolitionist newspaper, “The North Star”. He also worked with the Underground Railroad and was an advisor to Lincoln.

A quote from Douglass : Believe in yourself. Take advantage of every opportunity. Use the power of spoken and written language to effect positive change for yourself and society.

Harriet Tubman Born a slave, but escaped and became a conductor on the Underground Railroad. She took more than 300 slaves to the north. During the Civil War, Harriet was a spy for the Union.

The Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of routes by which slaves attempted to escape to free states, or as far north as Canada, with the aid of abolitionists. Other routes led to Mexico or overseas. At its height between 1810 and 1850, an estimated 30,000 to 100,000 people escaped enslavement via the Underground Railroad, though census figures only account for 6,000. The Underground Railroad consisted of secret routes, transportation, meeting points, safe houses, and other havens, and assistance that was maintained by abolitionist sympathizers.

“Underground Routes”

NORTH SOUTH More diverse population Higher population Larger cities Industry and business Small farms Groups of abolitionists trying to end slavery Agriculture as basis of economy Cash Crops: Cotton, tobacco, rice, and sugarcane Slave labor Few factories, little industry

Cotton is King! In 1790 (before the invention of the cotton gin) there were about 750,000 slaves in the south and 3000 bales of cotton produced per year. By 1860, the number of slaves was over four million, who produced almost four million bales of cotton per year