Download The Coming of the Civil War

The Coming of the Civil War
Two Nations
Overview
• More and more the cultural differences and
differences in political philosophies
between the North and the South drove
them apart. Ideologically and culturally we
were becoming two nations.
Slavery
• A key point of difference b/w North and South
• North
– Felt slavery violated basic principles of the US and
Christianity.
– Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin
– Story of a slave named Uncle Tom who is brutally killed by his
master Simon Legree.
– The book convinced Northerners slavery would be the end of the
US.
– Upon meeting Stowe, Lincoln said, “So this is the little woman
who started the big war?
Harriet Beecher Stowe
• South
– Saw Uncle Tom’s Cabin as a book of lies.
– Viewed plantation life as that of a big happy
family
– Saw slaves as having a better life than the
immigrant workers in the industrial factories
• 1857--George Fitzhugh published Cannibals All
which attacked Northern industrialists.
– Argued they represented the true spirit of the
American Revolution.
– Was not going to let Northerners tell them what
to do.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Other Differences
• North
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Urban
Held 70% of the Railroad Tracks
More telegraph lines
110K factories
Development was fast
• South
–
–
–
–
–
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Rural
Fewer Railroads
Fewer Telegraph lines
20K factories
More slaves and cotton
Development was slow.
New Political Parties
“I wish to speak today, not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northern man, but as
an American . . . I speak today for the preservation of the Union. Hear me for my
cause.”--Daniel Webster
Overview
• The Missouri Compromise had established
a line which decided whether new states
were slave or free. The Mexican War had
added much territory south of this line.
Controversy broiled as Abolitionists sought
to make these territories outlaw slavery
before they became states. In 1849
California requested admission as a free
state which would upset the balance of
power.
The Compromise of 1850
• Proposed by Henry Clay
• Consisted of 5 separate laws
– California would be admitted as a free state
– New Mexico and Utah territories would decide
for themselves.
– Slave trade in D.C. would be ended.
– Slavery in D.C. would remain legal.
– Fugitive Slave Act--ordered all citizens to assist
in the return of escaped slaves.
Henry Clay
The
Compromise
of 1850
• John C. Calhoun (SC) opposed it b/c:
– The North would have the power to oppress
and dominate the South.
– The growing Northern Power threatened state’s
rights ie-Nullification and Secession.
– North was twisting the Constitution and the
intentions of the founders.
• Daniel Webster (Mass) supported it b/c:
– To preserve the Union
– Felt slavery would never be practical in New
Mexico
– Believed it was a Constitutional duty to return
slaves
John C. Calhoun
• Congress eventually passed the compromise
which enraged Northerners and
Southerners.
Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
• Introduced by Stephen Douglas of Illinois
• Repealed the Missouri Compromise and
instituted popular sovereignty with regards
to slavery
• The act passed
Stephen
Douglas
Changing Political Parties
• Whigs--by the end of the 1850s had
disappeared.
• Know-Nothings
– Based on Nativism (idea that Americans should
be treated better than immigrants)
– Began as the secret organization called: The
Order of the Star Spangled Banner
– When questioned, members replied, “ I know
nothing.”
– Formed the American party which pledged to
work against Irish Catholic Immigration
• Republican Party
– Started by Northerners disgusted with the
Kansas-Nebraska Act
– Dedicated to stopping slavery
The System Fails
“A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot
endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be
dissolved--I do not expect the house to fall--but I do expect it will cease to be
divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other.”---Abraham Lincoln 1858
Overview
• With the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska
Act, Kansas had to decide whether to be
slave or free. The battle for Kansas became
the focal point of all North / South
Tensions.
Kansas
• Topeka was the anti-slavery capital and
Lecompton was the pro-slavery capital.
• Pro and anti slavery groups sent settlers to
KA to gain a majority.
• “Bleeding Kansas” 1856
– May 21--a group of Southerners looted
abolitionist newspaper offices and homes in
Lawrence, KA.
– May 24-25 John Brown and a group of New
Englanders raided 5 pro-slavery homes at
Pottawatomie Creek. They roused 5 men from
bed, drug them out and killed them in front of
their families.
– Raids and counter raids followed throughout
KA.
John Brown
• “Bleeding Sumner”
– May 19-20--Sen. Charles Sumner of
Massachusetts gave a speech which made bold
insults against Senator Andrew Butler of South
Carolina.
– House member Preston Brooks (Butler’s
nephew) determined to defend the honor of the
South.
– Brooks entered Sumner’s office and began
beating him with his cane.
– Brooks resigned, but was immediately
reelected.
– Brooks was sent a cane with the inscription
“Hit Him again.”
Politics and Slavery
• Election of 1856
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Democrats--James Buchanan
Republicans--John C. Fremont
American Party--Millard Fillmore
Buchanan won.
James Buchanan
John C. Fremont
Millard Fillmore
• Scott v. Stanford 1857
– Dred Scott (slave) sued for his freedom b/c he
and his wife had once lived in territories where
slavery was illegal and was therefore free.
– Court Ruled
• Slaves were not citizens and could not file suit
• Scott was never free
• The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional b/c
slaves were property and could be carried anywhere.
• The Lecompton Constitution
– Constitution sent by pro-slavery forces in
Kansas to apply for statehood.
– President Buchanan recognized it despite its
rejection by the people of Kansas.
– Congress sent it back to Kansas for another
vote and it was defeated.
• Lincoln-Douglas Debates 1858
– Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln were
both running for the Senate in Illinois.
– In 7 debates they discussed the issue of slavery
in the territories.
– Douglas supported popular sovereignty, but
Lincoln did not.
– Douglas won the election.
– Lincoln gained national exposure.
John Brown’s Raid
• October 16, 1859
• Brown and 22 others (including 2 slaves)
attacked the federal arsenal at Harper’s
Ferry, VA.
• Their goal was to take arms to give to the
slaves.
• US troops under Gen. Robert E. Lee
surrounded the arsenal and captured them.
• Brown was later hung for treason.
The Nation Divides
The Election of 1860
• Democratic Party
– Disagreeing over slaver in the territories, the
Democratic party split into 3 factions:
• Southern Dem’s nominated John C. Breckinridge
• Northern Dem’s nominated Stephen Douglas
• Moderate Southern Dem’s formed the Constitution Union
Party and nominated John Bell of Tennessee.
• Republicans
– Nominated Abraham Lincoln
• Lincoln won w/o any Southern electoral votes and
only 39% of the popular vote.
John C. Breckinridge
John Bell
Secession Begins
• Southerners were outraged that a President could
be elected w/o any Southern electoral votes.
• They felt they had no voice in government.
• Dec. 20, 1860—South Carolina seceded—MS,
FL, AL, GA, LA and TX soon followed
• Feb. 1861—Delegates met in Montgomery, AL,
and created the Confederate States of America
(CSA)
• Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was elected
President.
Jefferson Davis
War Begins
• Lincoln refused to recognize the secession and the
CSA.
• Fort Sumter—Charleston, SC
– January 1861—Confederate forces had fired on a ship
attempting to resupply the fort.
– April 10—President Davis ordered Gen PGT
Beauregard to demand surrender and to take the fort by
force if necessary.
– Beauregard opened fire and 24 hrs later Major Robert
Anderson surrendered the fort.
– This open act of rebellion marked the beginning of the
war.
Gen PGT
Beauregard
Major
Robert
Anderson
More States Secede
• When Lincoln began to mobilize the army,
VA, NC, TN, and AR seceded