Causes of the Civil War

Vocabulary tariffs – taxes on imported goods sectionalism – putting the interests of a region above those of the nation states’ rights – belief that the states had Constitutional rights the national government could not take away secession – the action of withdrawing from the Union nullification – belief that a state did not have to follow laws that did not benefit the state territory – frontier area belonging to the United States popular sovereignty – people in a territory would vote if they would be slave or free

Differences Between North & South Economy – Industrial Wanted high tariffs Urban with many cities Against states’ rights Against expansion of slavery into the west Economy – Agricultural Against high tariffs Rural with few large cities Believed in states’ rights For expansion of slavery into western territories

Tariffs Tariffs are taxes on imported goods which make imported goods more expensive. Tariffs protected goods made by Northern industries which would cost less than imported goods. The North liked high tariffs. The South was against high tariffs because they hurt southern trade relations with Europe.

Sectionalism Both the North and the South were more focused on what was best for their section than what was best for the whole nation. The North wanted high tariffs which hurt the agricultural economy of the South. The South wanted to protect its agricultural economy.

States’ Rights Southerners believed that the states had rights that the national government could not take away. States’ rights were the rights the Constitution did not state belonged to the national government. This included secession and nullification. The North disagreed.

Secession Secession was part of the states’ rights belief. Southerners believed that the U.S. Constitution was simply a compact or agreement among independent states. Since states joined the Union voluntarily, the states could secede or leave voluntarily at any time. The North disagreed.

The Western Territories The United States had territories west of the Mississippi River. Southerners believed the land in the west should be distributed quickly and cheaply so that it could be developed for agriculture. The North wanted the western territories to become industrialized.

Slavery in the Territories For the North and South to have equal power in Congress, there had to be an equal number of free and slave states. The question arose: Should the new states from the western territories be free states or slave states? Compromises were used to try to settle the issue.

Missouri Compromise - 1820 The Missouri territory applied for admission to the Union at the same time as Maine. In this compromise, Maine entered as a free state and Missouri entered as a slave state. Also, slavery would not be allowed north of the 36° 30’ line of latitude. This maintained a balance of power between free and slave states.

Compromise of 1850 In 1840, the U.S. gained territory to the Pacific Ocean. In 1845, Texas won its freedom from Mexico and entered the U.S. as a slave state. Argument broke out over California. The Compromise of 1850 - California entered as a free state, and the Fugitive Slave Law was written requiring that escaped slaves be returned.

Problems with the Compromise of 1850 Instead of a state’s location, popular sovereignty would determine if a new state would be free or slave. This meant the people would vote. South Carolina threatened to secede. Georgia leaders met to discuss secession. “The Georgia Platform” stated that Georgia would abide by the Compromise of 1850 if the North would do so. This stopped secession.

Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act stated that popular sovereignty would decide if these states would be slave or free. Thousands of people from North and South rushed to gain control of these territories. Fighting between the two groups was so savage that the area was called “Bleeding Kansas”.

Dred Scott Decision Dred Scott was a slave whose owner moved with him to a free state. Dred Scott said that he should be free. The Supreme Court decided against him and that Congress could not ban slavery from the territories and that slaves were property of their owners.

Election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. Southern leaders thought he would end slavery. This was not true about Lincoln – he had not intention of ending slavery. He wanted to stop its expansion. He stated his only goal was to save the Union with or without slavery. Southern leaders did not believe him, and many states began to plan for secession.

Summary Causes of the Civil War Regional and economic differences. Tariffs Sectionalism States’ Rights Westward expansion of slavery Missouri Compromise Compromise of 1850 Kansas-Nebraska Act Election of 1860