1. Civil War Causes
SS5H1

2. Civil War Causes
The Northern and Southern states were divided between four major issues:
Slavery
States’ Rights
Tariffs
Economies
The two biggest issues that divided the two sides were STATES’ RIGHTS and SLAVERY.
STATES RIGHTS: the South believed states should more power than the federal (national) government. The North believed the federal government should have more power than individual states.
SLAVERY: the South’s economy was based around farming, and they used slaves as free and cheap labor. The North had a more industrial (factories) economy and had no use for slavery.

3. Slavery The South’s major crop was cotton.
Northerner’s felt it was cruel and inhumane, and wanted to abolish (get rid of) slavery.
People who were against slavery were called abolitionists.
Southerner’s felt that abolishing slavery would ruin their economy.

4. Abolitionists
William Lloyd Garrison wrote an antislavery newspaper called The Liberator.
Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery. Once free, he became a leader for abolition. He gave many speeches and wrote many antislavery pieces of writing.
Sojourner Truth was a slave. She spoke in favor of abolition and women’s rights.
Harriet Tubman was a slave that escaped to the North. She became a famous conductor on the Underground Railroad by returning to the South 19 times to help approximately 300 slaves escape to freedom in the North.

5. Abolitionists Harriet Beecher Stowe was an abolitionist.
UNCLE TOM’S CABIN was a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852.
The book showed the evilness of slavery and shocked many people who did not realize how bad slavery was.
Many people in the North did not know how bad slavery was. After they read the book, many became angry.
The book is considered to be a cause to starting the war because it turned so many people against slavery.

6. Abolitionists John Brown was an abolitionist
He led a group of rebels (including slaves) to a gun facility in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia to protest slavery.
Brown refused to surrender when troops surrounded the area.
He was captured, put on trial, and hanged for his involvement at Harper’s Ferry.
This was related to the Civil War because it showed that people were willing to get violent to end slavery.

7. Tariffs
A tariff is a tax on imported goods (imported goods are goods from other countries, such as Britain). Southerners wanted to buy imported goods instead of from the North.
Congress added high tariffs on imported goods from other countries.
Congress implemented tariffs to force Southerners to buy American products instead of imported goods.
Southerners had to pay more for goods, such as steel and cloth. Southerners blamed the North for tariffs.

8. Economies North’s Economy South’s Economy
Industrial economy– many factories that produced goods, such as lumber, steel, and cloth
Also relied on trade of goods.
Agricultural economy – many plantations and farms that grew crops, such as cotton and tobacco
Southerners used slaves to work in their homes and in the fields to harvest their crops.

9. Sectionalism
All of the four major issues (slavery, states’ rights, tariffs, and economies) lead to sectionalism.
Sectionalism is loyalty to one part of the country
The South was loyal to the South
The North was loyal to the North
The North and the South became two “sections”
As conflicts grew, sectionalism increased