What led to the Civil War? Explain the importance of key issues and events that led to the Civil War; include slavery, states’ rights, nullification, Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850 and the Georgia Platform, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott case, election of 1860, the debate over secession in Georgia and the role of Alexander Stephens.

1. Slavery Slavery was not allowed in Georgia until the early 1750s. Slavery grew due to Georgia’s agricultural based economy. However, slavery grew exponentially with the invention of the cotton gin. Video

Philosophical shift Many of the nation’s founding fathers disliked slavery and hoped that later generations would end it, but in the South, the opposite happened. Focused on greed and profit, Southern sons and grandsons defended slavery as a “necessary evil” and began infringing on the rights of those who spoke out against slavery. Video

Meanwhile…in the North Frederick DouglassWilliam Lloyd GarrisonHarriet Beecher Stowe Called for the end of slavery! Abolition! Freedom!

Abolition Movement The goal of the abolitionist movement was the immediate emancipation of all slaves and the end of racial discrimination and segregation. Advocating for immediate emancipation distinguished abolitionists from more moderate anti-slavery advocates who argued for gradual emancipation, and from free-soil activists who sought to restrict slavery to existing areas and prevent its spread further west. Video

The abolitionist movement along with economic differences causes a rift between the south and the north

They tried to solve the problem The Northern and Sothern states came up with agreements or compromises to solve the problem

Missouri compromise Concern: If Missouri is allowed in the Union, there would be more slave states than free which would alter the balance of power in the Senate to the slave slates. Compromise: Maine is allowed to enter as a free state. PLUS, Congress forbids slavery north of the 36/30 parallel (which is the southern border of Missouri) Missouri Compromise serves as band aid solution for almost 30 years, with states being admitted into the Union in free and slave pairings. Video

Compromise 1850 Due to the Gold Rush, California’s population enabled it to apply for statehood; however, there was no slave state available to balance the entry of a free one which continued the conflict between the North and South. The South had a smaller population than the North and feared losing the balance of power in the Senate. Southern states feared the Northern states would end slavery and thus some Southerners started talking about secession.(Which would have started the Civil War a decade earlier.)

Compromise 1850 California would be added as a “free” state… … the Northern states agreed to Fugitive Slave Act Northern Congressmen agreed to pass the Fugitive Slave Act, which guaranteed the return of any runaway slave to their owners if slave was captured in the North.

Georgia Platform Georgians Alexander Stephens & Robert Toombs paved the way for the Southern states’ ratification of the Compromise of 1850.

Kansas-Nebraska Act Only four years after the Compromise of 1850 was passed, another conflict over slavery erupted. In 1854, the Kansas- Nebraska Act was passed. This act repealed the Missouri Compromise and permitted the possibility of slavery being allowed above the 36/30 parallel. Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas believed in popular sovereignty, the ability for states to decide for themselves if they would be free or slave.

Analyze

Bleeding kansas Kansas flooded by BOTH pro and anti- slavery supporters who came to the state to vote for or against the institution of slavery. Violence erupted. With all the bloodshed, Kansas became known as “Bleeding Kansas.” Video

1857 Dred Scott Case Dred Scott is a slave taken by his master to Illinois and Wisconsin. Upon his return to Missouri, Scott sues the state based on the belief that his time in the free states made him a free man. Court rules that slaves and freed blacks are not citizens of the U.S. and do not have the right to sue. Supreme Court rules in favor of the Southern States