Events Leading to the Civil War

1. Events Leading to the Civil War 1845-1860

2. Sectionalism and States Rights

3. Sectionalism West South North • Farming • Cash Crops • Slave Labor • Ranching • Cotton • Class Differences • Pioneer • Farms • Hunting • Mining • Lumber • Ranching • Indian Issues • Factories • Fishing • Whaling • Railroads • Large Population • Cities

4. Popular Sovereignty in the West • Let the people decide if they want slavery or not in the western territories • Started by Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois

5. Compromise of 1850 • Admits California as a free state • Abolishes slave trade in Washington, D.C. • Popular sovereignty in western territories • Fugitive slave law***

6. Abolitionists • Quakers • William Lloyd Garrison • Frederick Douglass • Henry David Thoreau • Sarah Grimke and her sister

7. Uncle Tom’s Cabin • Novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe • Focuses on slave life in Kentucky and Louisiana • Uncle Tom is a good and complacent soul • Simon Legree is the evil slave driver • Eliza flees to freedom by crossing the icy Ohio River • Lincoln called Stowe the “little lady who started the Civil War”

8. Published in 1852

9. Underground Railroad and Fugitive Slave Law • Fugitive slave law—federal violation for aiding runaway slaves • Secret escape routes to Northern free states • Harriet Tubman— “Moses” • Quakers

10. Kansas-Nebraska Act-1854 • Popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska territories (let the people decide through voting for or against slavery) • Led to “Bleeding Kansas” • Abolitionists led by John Brown

11. Kansas-Nebraska Act

12. Dred Scott v. Sanford

13. The Dred Scott Case • Supreme Court Decision in 1857 • Dred Scott sued his master for freedom after Sanford had taken him to a free state • Chief Justice Taney wrote the ruling that slaves were property, not citizens and could not sue • Slaves could be taken into any state and are still slaves • Only a constitutional amendment could overrule this momentous decision • Southerners rejoiced and Northerners were outraged

14. Abolitionist Activity

15. Brooks-Sumner Incident • Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner gave abolitionist speech in 1856 • He insulted slave owner Andrew Butler, uncle of Preston Brooks—both from South Carolina • Three days later, Congressman Brooks decided that Sumner was beneath dueling since he was no gentleman • He beat Sumner with a cane, seriously injuring him • Brooks was censured and Sumner became a strong advocate of Radical Reconstruction

16. The attack on Sumner was applauded across the South

17. John Brown and Harpers Ferry--1859 • John Brown led a “holy war” of escaped slaves against the white race • He captured the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (today, West Virginia) • Colonel Robert E. Lee was sent to capture the rebels • Many rebels were killed including some of Brown’s sons • Brown was captured, tried and hanged • Songs and pictures showed Brown as a hero to the abolitionist cause

18. John Brown—Hero or Criminal?

19. Other Terms: • Gag rule—1835-1844—no anti-slavery discussion in Congress allowed—J. Q. Adams said this violated 1st amendment • Free Soil Movement—3rd party 1848-54—against slavery in western territories • Wilmot Proviso—1845—proposal to ban slavery in lands won from Mexico—FAILED • Nullification Crisis—Jackson vs. SC over protective tariff—do states have a right to nullify federal law?

20. Presidents • Zachary Taylor—Whig • Millard Fillmore—Whig • Franklin Pierce --Democrat • James Buchanan --Democrat

21. The Republican Party • Formed in 1854 in Wisconsin • Principle: against the spread of slavery into the western territories • John C. Fremont (Western trailblazer) ran as a Republican for President in 1856 (lost) • Abraham Lincoln, a Whig, joined the party and became the first Republican President • The party dominated 19th and early 20th century presidencies

22. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates • Seven debates for the two candidates for U.S. Senate from Illinois—1858 • Democrat Stephen Douglas (“the little giant”) vs. Republican Abraham Lincoln (“the rail splitter”) • “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (Abraham Lincoln) • Douglas promoted popular sovereignty • Douglas won the election to Senate

23. Lincoln vs. Douglas

24. Election of 1860 • Douglas—Democrat—12 electoral votes—29.4% popular vote • Breckenridge—National Democrat (Southern)—72 electoral votes—18% popular vote • Bell—Constitutional Union—39 electoral votes—12% popular vote • Lincoln—Republican--180 electoral votes--39.8% popular vote *After the election, S.C. seceded*

25. Create a Circle Graph“Slavery: Statistics vs. Myths” • ¾ % owned over 50 slaves • 2.5% owned 20-49 slaves • 4% owned 10-19 slaves • 5.75 % owned 5-9 slaves • 7% owned 2-4 slaves • 5% owned 1 slaves • 75% owned no slaves • Why, then, did the South fight so hard to keep this institution?

26. Quick Quiz • 1. Make a chart entitled Events Leading to The Civil War • 2. Include three categories: political, social and economic • 3. List 12 events under the three categories with at least 3 in each