CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR

THREE MAIN CAUSES SLAVERY – main cause SECTIONALISM – favoring one region over the whole country SECESSION/STATES’ RIGHTS – breaking away from the country/believing states are more important than nation

Missouri Compromise Who – Henry Clay – the Great Compromiser What – set line to divide free and slave states in future (except Missouri); Missouri enters as a slave state, Maine as a free state When – 1820 Where – Missouri, Maine, Western Territory Why – kept balance of slave and free states – 12 of each Drew a line along the southern border of Missouri across Louisiana Purchase. Everything North of line would be free. Everything South of line would be slave.

Missouri Compromise

Nat Turner’s Rebellion Who – Nat Turner, 17 other slaves – David Walker “An Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World” What – rebellion against slave owners, killed 55 white people When – August 21, 1831, Nat Turner hanged on November 11, 1831 Where – Virginia (just over NC/VA border) Why – freedom from slavery How – 1. Kill white slave owners 2. Capture county capital 3. Take over Virginia

Abolitionists Who – William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, the Grimke sisters etc. What – people who wanted to end slavery When – late 1700’s until – Emancipation Proclamation 1865 – 13 th amendment abolishes slavery Where – all over the US, mostly in the North Why – religious and moral reasons; enslaving human beings is wrong How – protests, pamphlets, newspapers ( the Liberator), Underground Railroad, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”

Harriet Beecher Stowe Her novel had a major impact on northern Attitudes towards slavery Uncle Tom’s Cabin Most famous anti-slavery novel published – best-selling novel Of the 19 th century – 2 million copies

Abolition Leaders William Lloyd Garrison David Walker Robert Finley Angelina and Sarah Grimke

Frederick Douglass

COMPROMISE OF 1850 Who – Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun What – 1. Ca. admitted as free state 2. New Mex. and Utah – people vote on slavery 3. DC – slavery, but no slave trade 4. Strong Fugitive Slave Law – became major issue When – 1850 Where – Ca., New Mex., Utah, DC Why – no more balance of free and slave states 1849 – 15 of each South would never again have even numbers How – Congress approves, keeping nation from breaking apart

KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT Who – Stephen Douglas What – repealed Missouri Compromise, allowed people to decide slavery for themselves (popular sovereignty), “Bleeding Kansas” – violence over slavery When – Act is passed in 1854, Nebraska becomes free state in 1854, Kansas in 1859 Where – Kansas, Nebraska

Kansas-Nebraska 2 Why – Belief that citizens of a state should decide whether it was slave or free, where to build transcontinental railroad. How – Act passed in Congress caused major violence in Kansas

DRED SCOTT DECISION Who – Dred Scott, Roger B. Taney What – sued for his freedom based on the fact that he had lived in a free state When – Where – Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin Why – Supreme Court ruled he could not sue since he was property, not a citizen How – anti-slavery lawyers helped Scott sue

Lincoln-Douglas Debates Who – Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas What – series of political debates – race for U.S. Senate When – 1858 Where – Illinois Why – central theme became slavery. Lincoln believed it was wrong and was opposed to it spreading to any new areas. Douglas wanted to leave slavery up to each state – Freeport Doctrine How – Douglas wins election, but debates make Lincoln famous and lead to his nomination as Republican candidate for President in 1860

Lincoln believed that the Country would have to be all Slave or all free. “A house Divided cannot stand.” Abraham Lincoln Stephen Douglas

RAID ON HARPER’S FERRY OCTOBER 16, 1859 Who – John Brown, 21 whites and free blacks What – raid on arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, get weapons and ammo stored there, 10 of his men killed, the rest captured When – 10/16/1859 – attack on arsenal, John Brown and 6 others found guilty of treason and hanged on 12/2/1859 Where – Harper’s Ferry, Virginia

JOHN BROWN

Harper’s Ferry 2 Why – was an abolitionist – hated slavery How – attacked arsenal with 21 followers, going to use weapons to begin slave revolt (None joined), stopped by Col. Robert E. Lee and US Marines This persuaded many southerners that they would have to leave the Union to preserve their rights.

Underground Railroad Who - Harriet Tubman, Harriet Jacobs, Sojourner Truth, conductors, Stationmasters, bounty hunters What - escape system for slaves out of the South, set up by free Blacks, escaped slaves, white abolitionists, and religious groups (Quakers) When – 1831 to 1850 – stopped by Fugitive Slave Law Where – mostly southern states to Canadian border, stations 2 to 20 miles apart

Underground Railroad 2 Why – Freedom for slaves, secret escape route How – secret routes, hid in attics, barns, cellars. Traveled by walking or in boats at night

ELECTION OF 1860 Who – John Breckinridge –Southern Democrat Stephen Douglas – Northern Democrat John C. Bell – Constitutional Union Party Abraham Lincoln – Republican What – Presidential Election – Breckinridge gets most southern states, Douglas gets Missouri, Bell gets Border States, Lincoln gets all northern states/not even on the ballot in the south When – 11/6/1860 Where – United States – South Carolina said it would leave US (secede) if Lincoln won. SC secedes on 12/20/1860

Election of Why – to elect a President of the United States How – electoral college and popular vote split in the Democratic Party helped Lincoln win – he had 180 of 303 electoral votes, but only 40% of the popular vote

SECESSION SOUTH CAROLINA IS FIRST TO LEAVE THE UNION ON DECEMBER 20, 1860, FOLLOWED BY MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, AND TX. John J. Crittenden – proposed last plan to save the Union – Crittenden Compromise FEBRUARY 4, 1861 – CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA ARE FORMED JEFFERSON DAVIS IS ELECTED ITS FIRST PRESIDENT FIRST CAPITAL – MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA