Causes of the Civil War 1820 - 1860

1. THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE (1820) Devised by Henry Clay to not upset the balance of slave and free states in the United States. Before the Compromise there were 11 free and 11 slave states PARTS OF THE COMPROMISE 1.) Missouri entered as a slave state 2.) Maine entered as a free state. 3.) All the Louisiana Territory north of the southern border of Missouri (36’ 30’’ line) would be free from slavery. 4) Southern slave owners could pursue escaped slaves into free states and return them to slavery. 1. THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE (1820)

2. COMPROMISE OF 1850 - Created by Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and Stephen Douglas Parts of the Compromise: 1.) California admitted as a FREE state. 2.) District of Columbia (Washington DC) abolishes slave trade in its city. 3.) Utah and New Mexico would be neutral territories. The question of slave vs. free would be decided by popular sovereignty. 4.) Updated Fugitive Slave Law passed. After Mexican American War, US gained new territory (Mexican Cession). Congress debated if these lands should be free or slave.

FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW (1850) This law was part of the compromise of 1850. It was a law that REQUIRED citizens in the North to catch runaway slaves. If a person did not comply, they cold be fined up to $1000 or put in jail for SIX months. Judges received $10 if they returned a slave and $5 if they freed them. Suspects accused of being a runaway slave had no right to trial. MANY free black people were captured and sent back into slavery. Northerners HATED law because it forced them to become a part of the system of slavery. http://search.eb.com/blackhistory/micro/222/8.html

3. UNCLE TOM’S CABIN (1852) This was a NOVEL written by Harriett Beecher Stowe, an abolitionist minister’s daughter It was written to show the EVILS of slavery by telling the story of an older slave, Uncle Tom. Uncle Tom was treated cruelly; and, eventually whipped to death by his owner, Simon Legree. After reading it, MANY Northerners began to change their view of slavery and believe it was a Moral Wrong. Southerners said the book was biased and did not accurately portray the life of an enslaved African American.

4. KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT (1854) Democratic senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois sponsored this bill. Passed in Congress in 1854 Authored and supported by Senator Stephen Douglas Allowed the formation of the Nebraska and Kansas Territories, a step necessary for a land to take before becoming states. Located north of the Missouri Compromise line, the South objected to new territories. To appease the South, both territories were allowed in with the condition of popular sovereignty – the people of the territories could decide on the slavery issue. In practice, the Act repealed the Missouri and 1850 Compromises. http://encarta.msn.com/media

Bleeding Kansas (1856) After Kansas Nebraska Act, Kansas became a battleground for opposing sides, each trying to influence the popular vote. These arguments became violent. Thousands of pro and anti slavery supporters flood Kansas to vote and fight for their position on slavery. John Brown, an anti-slavery settler, went to Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas and with his sons murdered 5 pro-slavery men in the middle of the night. Northerners, while they don’t believe in slavery, are appalled at what he did. http://encarta.msn.com/media

DRED SCOTT DECISION (1857) Dred Scott was a slave who sued for his freedom. He had lived in a free territory with his owner. His owner moved back into a slave state. While in Missouri (a slave state), Scott sued based on the argument that he was living as a free man and should continue as a free man. Antislavery attorneys took case to the Supreme Court but Scott LOST. The Court ruled he was NOT a citizen because he was black. but RATHER property and therefore he could not file a lawsuit. Based on the 5th amendment Congress could NOT ban slavery anywhere because as property, they were protected by the Constitution. This REPEALED the Missouri Compromise. Southerners LOVED the ruling while Northerners HATED it. It meant slavery could spread into all the territories! http://encarta.msn.com/media

RAID ON HARPER’S FERRY (1859) John Brown led five blacks and thirteen whites into Harper’s Ferry. They planned to raid an arsenal, seize weapons and start a slave revolt. Problem: No slaves “rose” to help. A number of his men died and Brown was wounded and arrested by Robert E. Lee. Brown was tried and found guilty of murder and treason. He was later hanged. Some Northerners thought of him as a Martyr because his cause was noble. The South could not believe that people could be supportive of a murderer. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/brown/peopleevents/pande09.html

ELECTION OF 1860 Lincoln ran against Douglass in the Presidential Election of 1860. The Southern states did not like Lincoln or what he believed in. They overwhelmingly supported Douglass yet Lincoln STILL got elected. Southerners grew very angry. Said this showed it did not matter what their opinions were, the North had to much power! Many Southerners talked of SECEDING from the Union. http://www.multied.com/elections/1860.html Lincoln – 39.79%; Douglas – 29.4%; Breckenridge – 18.2%, Bell – 12.61%

The South Secedes December 20, 1860 - South Carolina voted to succeed from the Union. Senator John Crittenden(Kentucky) ties to extend the Missouri Compromise line to the West. (Fails) February 1861 - Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. February 4th, 1861 - Montgomery, Alabama the Confederate States of America is formed. Jefferson Davis - Selected to a 6 year term as President of the United States. (State Rights)