Causes of the Civil War10 Critical Events

US-Mexican War (1846-48)

• Starts with a fight over Texas• Results in the addition of lots of

new territory (S.W. part of the U.S.)

• Will slavery be allowed into the new territory?

• Wilmot-Proviso = bill introduced in Congress that bans slavery in the new territory

• Leads to a huge fight = regional divisions

Compromise of 1850

• Sen. John C. Calhoun vs. Sen. Daniel Webster

• Calhoun = allow for the expansion of slavery or else

• Webster = opposes the expansion of slavery

• Henry Clay = The Great Compromiser offers up a deal to “save the union”

Details of the Compromise

• California = free state• Utah & New Mexico = vote on whether or not

they would allow slavery• Texas-New Mexico boundary resolved; Texas is

paid $10 million by the federal gov’t• Slave trading banned in DC, but slavery allowed

to continue• Fugitive Slave Act = slaves must be returned to

their owner; to assist runaway slaves was a crime

Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Divides the large territory into two separate parts: Nebraska and Kansas

• Popular Sovereignty = Allow the people in Nebraska & Kansas to vote on the issue of slavery

• Border Ruffians vs. Free Soilers• Leads to Bleeding Kansas = violence

breaks out over the issue of slavery• Bleeding Sumner – Sen. Charles

Sumner attacked on the floor of the senate by Rep. Preston Brooks

Dred Scott Decision • Dred Scott – slave taken to a

free territory in the North• Argues that because of the

Missouri Compromise; he should be free = sues for his freedom

• Supreme Court says that he is property; therefore has no standing to sue (no rights)

• Missouri Comp. was unconstitutional

Birth of the Republican Party

• The Whig Party disappears in the early 1850s • New political party = Republican Party • Made up of discontented Whigs & Anti-slavery

Democrats• Main issue = opposition to slavery (keep it

from spreading)• Strongest support in the Northern states

Fugitive Slave Act & Uncle Tom’s Cabin

• Fugitive Slave Act (1850) • Outrages Harriet Beecher

Stowe • Decides to write Uncle Tom’s

Cabin• Describes in detail the horrific

practice of slavery• Further divides northerners and

southerners

Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)• U.S. Senate Race in Illinois• Stephen Douglas (Demo.)• Abraham Lincoln (Rep.)• Series of debates outlining the future of slavery• Douglass – strong supporter of popular sovereignty• Lincoln – contain slavery to the South

John Brown

• Radical abolitionist • Wants to lead a violent overthrow

in the South• He & his sons raid a weapons

depot in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (1859)

• Have a standoff with authorities • Eventually, John Brown is executed• Becomes a hero in the North• Southerners think he’s crazy

Election of 1860

• Four major candidates:• Abraham Lincoln – Republican• Stephen Douglas – Northern Democrat• John C. Breckinridge – Southern Democrat• John Bell – Constitution Union Party• Lincoln wins a majority of the Electoral College• Most of the population is in the North

Electoral Map - 1860

Southern Secession

• South doesn’t trust Lincoln• South Carolina secedes from the Union

followed by many other southern states• Big Question = Is secession legal? Can states

just leave?• Lincoln says “NO!”• 1861 war begins

Map of the Divided U.S.A.