Causes of the civil war

Causes of the Civil War

Preview: Federal Government’s Authority vs. States’ Rights

These conflicting ideas had been around since the birth of America. When the constitution was written, it focused mainly on federal government's authority and not so much on states rights. This was a problem because many people thought  that states should have more rights than the federal government. A specific example of this was the Nullification Crisis in North Carolina. John C. Calhoun refused to accept the tariff that Andrew Jackson had approved and threatened to secede. However, a state did not have the power to do this, creating two different political standpoints in this regard.

Preview: Economic Changes

In the south, as the cotton king grew, so did the need for labor. Slaves were turned to for production of the short-staple cotton to make money. However, the north was industrial based and slaves were not allowed. These two very different economic structures were one of the causes for the civil war. This pictures show what states tolerated slavery (the confederacy) and which did not (the union).

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Compromise of 1850

The Compromise of 1850 was written by Henry Clay and it avoided secession or a a civil war for four years. Both the north and the south disliked certain parts of the compromise but overall, it kept the two regions at peace. The south disliked the fact that California was admitted to the country as a slave free state. Southerners wanted the state to be split in half at the 35th parallel, but that was not given. Instead, the Utah and New Mexico Territories were slave holding areas that could turn into slave states in the future. This was unsettling to the north. However, something the south did favor of the compromise was stronger rules of the Fugitive Slave Act.   

Kansas-Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas

Stephen A. Douglas designed the Kansas-Nebraska act as a way to complete the transcontinental railroad. It named Kansas and Nebraska official territories and they were ready to be settled in. Douglas proposed that popular sovereignty was used to decide if each territory would have slaves or not. A flood of both slave and non-slave owning settlers came leading to Bleeding Kansas. This was a violent fight between pro and anti-slave holding people between the Kansas territory and Missouri. The fighting lasted from 1854 to 1861. This video gives a summary of the events.

Dred Scott Decision

The Dred Scott Decision was that African-Americans were not citizens of the United States and therefore, has no say in federal court. This was determined during the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford. The court case also ruled the Missouri compromise unconstitutional because the federal government could not regulate slavery in states.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

In an effort to become senator for Illinois, Lincoln and Douglas went to different cities in Illinois to talk about their policies. Slavery was a main topic of the discussions. Lincoln was the republican candidate and Douglas was the democratic. Many people, even from neighboring states, came to hear the debates because slavery was a national problem at the time. Douglas had won the senate, but Lincoln had published the debates and they were read across the country. The popularity of the book led to Lincoln becoming a candidate for the 1860 presidential election.   

John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry

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The raid on Harper's Ferry was an attempted armed slave revolt led by John Brown, a white abolitionist. The 20 men planned to seize a united states arsenal but was stopped by the US Marines. Seventeen people were killed, ten wounded, and only four of Brown's men escaped. The picture to the left depicts the scene of the raid.

Election of 1860

The candidates for the election of 1860 included Abraham Lincoln, John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen A. Douglas. The results are shown below. Lincoln received 180 of the 303 electoral votes and was elected as president.Because he was a republican, this was the last straw for the south. Seven states declared secession and created the confederacy. Kentucky and Missouri attempted to remain neutral states.

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