Download A Nation Divided Against Itself

A Nation Divided Against Itself
Objective:
• Evaluate the final catalysts that sparked
the Civil War.
The Election of 1860
• As the election approached, it became
clear of two things
– 1. The majority of Northerners would not
accept leadership by a Southerner
– 2. The Southerners announced that they
would not accept a leader from the antislavery
Republicans
• So who would. . .or could. . .be President?
The Contenders
• For the Democrats:
Delaware
Maryland
Missouri
Kentucky
From the South
Pro Slavery
From the North
Popular Sovereignty
Represented the
Border states
Moderate
For the Republicans…
The Election
• No longer national
political parties
– The division between
North and South was
beyond repair
• Southern Ballots were
between Bell and
Breckinridge
• Northerners voted for
Lincoln or Douglas
The Results
The Lower South Secedes
• Southerners were outraged
– Secessionists, those who
wanted the South to leave
the Union
• Join voluntarily, leave
voluntarily
• Knew Republicans could
legally get rid of slavery
• December 20, 1860: SC
secedes
The Confederate States of America
• Shortly after SC
seceded, the other
Lower South States
followed
• Created a new nation:
• The Confederate
States of America (the
Confederacy)
– Jefferson Davis
Attempt for Prevention
• Last-Minute compromises fail:
– Sen. John J Crittenden (KY) proposed a plan
where slavery would be recognized under
36°30’ N
• President-Elect Lincoln convinced the Senate to
reject it
– Horace Greeley proposed letting the states
secede in peace
• Offended Union supporter and businessmen
– How could the US continue to function if its
members could come and go as they please?
Lincoln Becomes President
• At his inauguration, Lincoln stated:
– 1) Civil war was in the hands of the people,
while he was responsible to preserve, protect
and defend the US
– 2) He would not attack the South, if a war was
going to start he would let them be the
aggressors
– 3) Promised to defend the property of the
Government
Fort Sumter
• Fort Sumter : Union fort off
Charleston, SC
– The CSA had fired on
supply ships
– Lincoln attempts aid
– CSA calls for the surrender
of Fort Sumter
• April 12, 1861: Gen. P.G.T.
Beauregard fires on the fort
– Sumter is forced to Surrender
The War Begins
– Lincoln calls for troops to prepare for war,
– The South views this as a hostile act--declaring war on the US
– The Upper South Secedes and joins the 8
states of the Confederacy (12 in all)
Question: Could the Union be restored through
force?
In Review:
• How did the election of 1860 demonstrate
the split between the North and the South?
• What concerns led the Lower South to
secede from the Union?
• What event started the Civil War?