CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR SECTIONAL TENSIONS THE

CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR

SECTIONAL TENSIONS • THE US EXPANDED WEST FROM 13 COLONIES ACROSS THE CONTINENT. • NEW LAND GAINED WOULD BECOME FEDERAL TERRITORIES BEFORE BECOMING STATES. • FEDERAL – RELATES TO THE CENTRAL GOV’T OF THEUSA • STATES HAD MORE FREEDOM FROM FEDERAL CONTROL THAN TERRITORIES.

• THE TWO MAIN REGIONS OF THEUSA WERE THENORTH AND THE SOUTH. • THREE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE REGIONS: • SLAVERY • ECONOMIC DIFFERENCES • CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

SLAVERY AND THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE • BY 1820, ALL THENORTHERN STATES HAD BANNED SLAVERY. • SLAVERY WAS INTEGRAL TO THESOUTHERN ECONOMY. • MORE THAN 1/3 OF THE PEOPLE IN THESOUTH WERE SLAVES. • WOULD NEW STATES ALLOW SLAVERY? • USA NEEDED A BALANCE BETWEEN “FREE” AND “SLAVE” STATES FOR POLITICAL STABILITY.

MISSOURI COMPROMISE • IN 1820, MISSOURI PETITIONED TO BE ADMITTED AS A SLAVE STATE. • WOULD CREATE MORE SLAVE THAN FREE STATES. • BY THIS TIME MANY NORTHERNERS WERE ABOLITIONISTS. • ABOLITIONISTS – PEOPLE WHO OPPOSED SLAVERY.

• CONGRESS CREATED A COMPROMISE. • MISSOURI WOULD JOIN AS A SLAVE STATE. • MAINE WOULD JOIN AS A FREE STATE. • IN THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY NO SLAVERY NORTH OF LATITUDE 36˚ 30’

ECONOMIC DIFFERENCES • BY 1860, 18 FREE STATES AND 15 SLAVE STATES. • POPULATION: • NORTH – 18. 65 MILLION • SOUTH – 10. 5 MILLION

• NORTHERN ECONOMY • INDUSTRIAL • ENGINEERING AND TEXTILES

• SOUTHERN ECONOMY • AGRARIAN (FARMING-BASED) • BY 1860, ONLY 8% OF US FACTORIES WERE IN THE SOUTH • COTTON, RICE, AND TOBACCO

• IMPACTS OF FOREIGN COMPETITION • COTTON PRICES DROPPED. • SOUTH SUPPORTED FREE TRADE. • FREE TRADE- TRADE THAT IS NOT RESTRICTED BY REGULATIONS OR TARIFFS. • NORTH SUPPORTED TARIFFS. • TARIFFS – TAXES PAID ON CERTAIN IMPORTED AND EXPORTED GOODS.

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES • HONOR (OR HONOUR FOR THE BRITISH SPELLING) • VERY IMPORTANT IN THE SOUTH. WOULD BE DEFENDED TO THE DEATH. • SOUTHERN NATIONALISM BASED ON: • SLAVERY • CHIVALRY • STRONG CHRISTIAN FAITH • NORTHERN IDENTITY BASED ON: • FREE LABOR • LIBERTY • PURITANICAL CHRISTIANITY

POLITICAL ISSUES • POLITICAL PARTIES • SOURCES OF DISUNITY, ESPECIALLY ON SLAVERY ISSUE • 1840 S, TWO PARTIES –DEMOCRATS AND WHIGS

• DEMOCRATS • FOCUSED ON RURAL AND AGRICULTURALAMERICA • SUSPICIOUS OF FEDERAL GOV’T • SOUTHERN DEMOCRATS OPPOSED TO GROWING POWER OF THE FEDERAL GOV’T. • NORTHERN DEMOCRATS LESS SO. • WHIGS • FOCUSED ON INDUSTRIALIZATION AND CITIES • BIGGER FEDERAL GOV’T TO GROW ECONOMY

THE WAR WITH MEXICO • 1845 - USA ANNEXED TEXAS. • MEXICO REFUSED TO ACCEPT. • JAMES K. POLK ELECTED PRESIDENT IN 1844. • EXPANSIONIST • BELIEVED IN MANIFEST DESTINY – AMERICA WAS ORDAINED BY GOD TO CONTROL THE CONTINENT. • CAUSED WAR BY SENDING TROOPS TOMEXICAN BORDER.

• TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO • TREATY ENDING WAR WITH MEXICO. • USA WON AND GAINED UPPER CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO. RIO GRANDE THE BORDER. CALLED MEXICAN CESSION. • ISSUE AROSE DUE TO SLAVERY. WOULD NEW TERRITORIES BE FREE OR SLAVE? HOW WOULD REPRESENTATION BE DIVIDED?

• WILMOT PROVISO • GAVE MONEY TO BUY MORE LAND FROMMEXICO. • CALLED FOR ALL LAND FROMMEXICO TO OUTLAW SLAVERY. • NOT PASSED –CONGRESS VOTED ALONG SECTIONAL LINES.

• REDISTRIBUTION OF SEATS IN THEHOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES • CONGRESSIONAL SEATS REDISTRIBUTED EVERY 10 YEARS BASED ON POPULATION. • SOUTH GRADUALLY LOSING SEATS CAUSED FEAR THENORTH WOULD BEGIN TO CONTROL COUNTRY.

COMPROMISE OF 1850 • THE COMPROMISE OF 1850 • CALIFORNIA ADMITTED AS A FREE STATE. • “POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY” FOR TERRITORY GAINED IN THEMEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR. PEOPLE LIVING IN THE TERRITORY COULD DECIDE IF THEY WANTED SLAVERY. • NO SLAVE TRADE IN DC

COMPROMISE OF 1850 • THE COMPROMISE OF 1850 • FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT OF 1850 • REQUIRED FREE STATES TO HELP RETURN RUNAWAY SLAVES TO THEIR OWNERS IN THE SOUTH.

• ACCUSATION THAT SOMEONE WAS A FUGITIVE SLAVE WAS ENOUGH TO HAVE THE APPREHENDED. • NO LEGAL OPTION FOR ACCUSED SLAVES.

UNCLE TOM’S CABIN • WRITTEN BY HARRIET BEECHER STOWE • ANTI-SLAVERY NOVEL TH • BEST SELLING NOVEL OF THE 19 CENTURY • DEPICTED THE HORRORS OF SLAVERY AND BOOSTED THE ABOLITIONIST CAUSE.

• HUGE IMPACT • LINCOLN CALLED HER THE LITTLE WOMAN WHO STARTED THIS WAR. • TODAY CRITICIZED FOR ITS STEREOTYPICAL PORTRAYAL OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS.

THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT OF 1854 • SENATOR STEPHEN DOUGLAS OF ILLINOIS WANTED THE UNORGANIZED TERRITORIES IN THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE TO BE ORGANIZED. • SETTLERS WOULD MOVE IN • GOV’T TO BUILD TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD

• DOUGLAS’S BILL WOULD CREATE 2 NEW TERRITORIES AND ALLOW POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY. • KANSAS • NEBRASKA • KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT SPLIT BOTH THE DEMOCRATIC AND WHIG PARTIES ON SECTIONAL LINES.

• THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT WAS PASSED. • EFFECTIVELY REPEALED THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE – STATE CHOICE OVER FEDERAL LAW • SOUTH LOVED BUT NORTH HATED

‘BLEEDING KANSAS’ • IN 1854 – 1400 PEOPLE LIVEDKINANSAS • 1855 – 8501 PEOPLE LIVED INKANSAS • PEOPLE RUSHED INTO KANSAS TO EFFECT THE VOTE ON IF THE STATE WOULD BE FREE OR SLAVE. • PRO-SLAVE HAD THE ADVANTAGE – SLAVE STATEMISSOURI BORDERED

• FREE-STATE AND SLAVE STATE SUPPORTERS FLOODED INTO KANSAS. • BORDER RUFFIANS ATTACKED FREE-STATE TOWN OFLAWRENCE. • JOHN BROWN RESPONDED BY KILLING PRO-SLAVE SUPPORTERS.

DRED SCOTT • THE DRED SCOTT DECISION, 1857 • MAJOR SUPREME COURT CASE. • DRED SCOTT SUED FOR HIS FREEDOM BECAUSE HE HAD LIVED IN A FREE STATE. • RULING: • DRED SCOTT WAS NOT A CITIZEN AND HAD NO RIGHT TO SUE. • MISSOURI COMPROMISE WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. SLAVES WERE PROPERTY AND HAD NO RIGHT TO TAKE PROPERTY AWAY, OR LIMIT PROPERTY RIGHTS.