Causes of the Civil War and The Election of 1860 We will look at events that polarized the country, including the 1860 election. We’ll compare that election to modern elections to see if there are still patterns in how states vote.

Missouri Compromise Every time a new state was admitted into the Union, it had to be declared as a slave state or a free state. To put off war, federal politicians from the north and south came up with the Missouri Compromise of This compromise, the first of many, was unpopular in both halves of the country. It stated that every state north of 36N North should be free, while every new state south of that line would be considered a slave state. Because Missouri was north of that line, it was given “special status” making it a slave state.

John Brown John Brown was an abolitionist. An abolitionist believed in the ending of slavery. John Brown has been called a fanatic and a lunatic, and even a fanatic patriot. He was so against slavery that he decided to rebel the government in what we would call today “terrorist plots.” Captured in Virginia, he would found guilty of murder and treason under Virginian law. He was sentenced to hang. Southerners celebrated his death, seeing the death of a terrorist and traitor displayed before them. Northerners saw him as a martyr... somebody that died for a holy cause.

Dred Scott Dred Scott was a slave, born in Virginia and eventually purchased by a US army officer. He followed his master from Missouri to Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory which was free soil. His master even allowed him to marry at Fort Snelling in the Wisconsin Territory, which was generally prohibited to slaves. He sued for his freedom based on the fact that he had resided in a free state, and once there, should have been freed. Initially, the courts disagreed with Scott. They more or less said it was too late. Scott pursed his freedom, with the case eventually reaching the United States Supreme Court. It became a political question on whether or not slavery should be legal. The Supreme Court voted 7-2 against Scott’s quest for freedom. Chief Justice Roger Taney summed it up by saying that no black man could ever become a citizen of the United States, whether or not he was free or a slave. Since Scott was black, he was not a citizen, and since not a citizen, he could not legally sue the courts. Abolitionists were outraged, while Southerners rejoiced believing that Justice Taney had stood up for the South. It was another polarizing event that further divided the North and the South.

The Election of Abraham Lincoln Lincoln, from Illinois, was against slavery but said his main goal, if he were elected, was to keep the Union intact.

The Electoral College Firstly, we need to understand how the Electoral College works. The Electoral College, in simple terms, means that votes for the Presidency are ‘winner take all.’ In the last election, if just one more person would have voted for President Obama in Wisconsin, he would have taken all of Wisconsin’s Electoral Votes…10 in 2008.

Election of 2008 Let’s look at the 2008 presidential election for a frame of reference. Barack Obama won the popular vote over John McCain by a large margin. This was reflected in the electoral vote as well….

It’s based on popuation! Rhode Island, our smallest state by area, has four Electoral College votes, while Alaska has only three votes. California has the most, at 55. The next four largest states by electoral votes are… Texas (36), New York (30), Florida (28) and Illinois (21).

The Popular Winner doesn’t always win… George W. Bush had fewer total votes than Albert Gore in 2000, but won anyway because he won the majority of Electoral Votes…

Back to 1860… Lincoln won enough Electoral Votes even though he didn’t even appear on Southern ballots. The North had the Electoral Power.

This was it, as far as the South was concerned. South Carolina left the Union before Lincoln was even sworn in. 10 other states would follow. They formed the Confederate States of America. The path to war was now complete.