Causes of the Civil War The issues that tore our nation apart.

Important dates On your timeline put the following dates: 1)1861- Sam Houston resigns 2)1861- Civil War begins 3)1863- Battle of Galveston 4)1863- Battle of Sabine Pass 5)1864- Battle of Palmito Ranch 6)1865- Civil War ends/Lincoln assassinated 7)June 19, Enslaved people find out they are free

February 10, 2016 Review the three fundamental issues dividing the North and the South at this time: states’ rights, tariffs, and slavery. I want you to choose one issue, and organize into three groups based on the issues they chose. I will allow you to use your phone to research the issue you chose. Then each student in the group will need to write an essay explaining the group’s issue from both the North’s perspective and the South’s perspective.

February 19th Today I want you to take the sheet of paper you have been given, write your name on the top along with today’s date. You are then going to write me at least ¾ of a page on the following topic: COMPARE PRESIDENT LAMAR WITH PRESIDENT HOUSTON. Remember these are the two presidents of the Republic of Texas we compared a few weeks ago. You may not use a book to help you with this, you must use the knowledge you have gained through this class.

Cause #1 Sectionalism North South

Prior to the Civil War, the United States was not really united. Our country was more like two separate countries sharing the same land. North South

The North had industry, large cities, a diverse population, and favored the politics of the Republican party which supported the abolition of slavery.

The South had an economy based on agriculture, a plantation lifestyle, the views of the Democratic party, and the institution of slavery.

Southerners were especially loyal to their section. They thought of themselves... as citizens of their own state first,as citizens of their own state first, as Southerners second,as Southerners second, and as U.S. citizens third.and as U.S. citizens third.

This loyalty to your state or section of the country first and the nation second is called... The intense feelings of sectionalism further divided the country into two separate sections- North and South.

Cause #2 Slavery

Slavery was a cause of the Civil War for two reasons. #1. The South viewed slavery as a necessity to maintaining economic wealth. However, many people in the North viewed slavery as evil and unconstitutional.

#2. Slavery was not just a moral issue but a political issue as well. If there were more slave states in the U.S., then the South would have more power in Congress. If there were more free states in the U.S., then the North would have more power in Congress.

Both Northerners and Southerners fought fiercely over the moral and political issue of slavery. If the U.S. had been founded without slavery, then the following causes of the Civil War may have never been issues.

Cause #3 States’ Rights

States’ rights is the idea that each state had the right to determine whether or not to follow federal laws. Southerners supported states’ rights. They believed that they had the right to own slaves and even secede, or leave the Union, if they desired. United States Law

Southerners were also angry at Congress using its power to impose taxes on the South’s agricultural products. They felt that any federal tax restricted the rights of the individual states.

Northerners did not support states’ rights. They believed the national government had final power. The federal government had the power to make laws that applied to all states, including imposing taxes.

Cause #4 Tariff

A tariff is a tax on trade

Texans supported low tariffs to continue to trade cotton with European Nations. Southern states produced 80% of the World’s supply of cotton. The US federal government imposed protective tariffs

Cause #5 Nullification Crisis

1832- President Jackson and Congress passed the Tariff of Abominations. Congress raised tariffs on raw materials and manufactured goods.

The South had to sell cotton at low prices to stay competitive, while they had to pay high prices for their manufactured goods This resulted in the Nullification Crisis in which South Carolina believed that states had the right to nullify a federal law that it considered unconstitutional

After Lincoln’s election, eleven southern states eventually seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. Texas’s lawmakers voted to secede by a vote of 166 to 8, and the people of Texas voted for secession by a margin of more than 3 to 1.

South Carolina threatened to secede but a compromise ended the threat The issue continued to brew until 1862

Abraham Lincoln and other Northerners viewed Southern secession as an unconstitutional act. On April 12, 1861 Southern troops attacked Ft. Sumter, a Union garrison off the coast of South Carolina.

No one was killed on either side during this first battle of the Civil War. It was a “bloodless opening to the bloodiest war in American history”.

Let’s review the main causes of the Civil War: 3. States’ rights 4. Tariffs 5. Nullification Crisis United States Law 2. Sectionalism SouthNorth 1. Slavery