Download Causes of the Civil War-PPT

CAUSES OF
THE CIVIL WAR
The Missouri Compromise
The Problem:
• In 1819, 11 states permitted slavery and 11 did not,
giving an equal balance of representation.
• Slaveholding Missouri asked to join the Union.
• Admitting a slave state would shift the balance in favor
of the Southern slave states.
• Should territories of the Louisiana purchase be admitted
as slave states or free states?
The Missouri Compromise
The Solution:
House Henry Clay proposed the “Missouri Compromise”
which would allow Missouri’s admittance as a slave state
while simultaneously admitting Maine as a free state.
The Compromise also prohibited slavery in the remainder
of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36-30N latitude.
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE
The Compromise of 1850
The Problem:
• After acquiring the Mexican Cession, the US must
again decide whether the territories there will be
admitted as slave states or free states.
The Compromise of 1850
The Solution:
• California would be admitted as a free state
• The New Mexico territory would have no
restriction on slavery.
• The slave trade, but not slavery itself, would
be abolished in the District of Columbia
(Washington D.C).
• A stronger Fugitive Slave Law
that was criticized in Harriet
Beecher Stowe’s, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
THE COMPROMISE OF 1850
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Problem:
• In 1854 Stephen Douglas proposes that
“popular sovereignty” should be how the
slavery issue should be decided in new
territories.
• This would overturn the Missouri
Compromise.
• He makes this proposal to get Southern
support for a railroad in the North.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Response:
• The law passed, overturning the Missouri
Compromise.
• The act led to bloodshed in Kansas when it
was time to vote.
• Critics of the act formed a new political party,
The Republicans, “overnight”.
– They wanted to let slavery continue in the
South, but not extend it to any new
territories.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Dred Scott v. Sanford
The Problem:
• Dred Scott, a Southern slave, was taken to the
North by his master and then back to slavery in
the South.
• Scott sued for his freedom.
• Should he be considered “Free” because he had
been on free soil and then taken back to
slavery?
Dred Scott
The Decision:
• The court states:
– Scott is not a citizen, so he is not entitled to bring a
lawsuit before the court.
– Africans could never become citizens because they
were not included when the Constitution was written.
– Slaves are property and Congress has no right to
take away slaveholder’s property.
• What it means:
– Congress can’t legally prohibit slavery in new
territories.
– The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.
THE DRED SCOTT DECISION
Dividing Issues
The Problem:
• Lincoln-Douglas debates (1858):
– Debates during election for state Senator
– 7 debates, each 3 hours long, entirely about slavery
– Lincoln says:
• Dred Scott decision wrong, African Americans are
humans beings with rights and no person could
claim a moral right to enslave them.
– Lincoln lost the election, but his position was clear.
• John Brown’s Raid (1859):
– A white abolitionist that starts a slave revolt at
Harpers Ferry. It is ended quickly, he is tried and
executed.
– He is a hero in the North.
– The South is alarmed and fearful.
Dividing Issues
The Problem Continued:
• Election of 1860:
– Lincoln is the Republican Candidate.
– 2 Democrat candidates because North and South
can’t agree on one.
– Lincoln wins but did not take a single Southern
state.
• What is the South to do?
The Nation Splits Apart
• 6 Weeks after Lincoln is elected, South
Carolina secedes – They followed the same
process to leave the Union that they did to
join it (Special convention and vote)
• By February 1861 - Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia
joined in secession as well (Eventually there
would be 11)
• The Confederate States of America was born
– Capital: Montgomery, AL (Richmond, VA)
– President: Jefferson Davis
THE SOUTH SECEEDS
THE CIVIL WAR BEGINS…