Causes of the Civil War

1. Missouri Compromise

1.1. 1800

1.2. Missouri compromise

1.3. As America began moving west the issue of whether or not slaves should be allowed in the new states forming out west became an issue. The first state in which this became an issue was free. It's addition to the United States threatened to upset the balance between free states and slaves states. In 1820, Senator Thomas Jefferson persuaded congress to approve the Missouri compromise. The Missouri compromise stated that Maine was admitted as a free state. Missouri was admitted as a slave state. Louisiana north of Missouri's southern border was free. Southern slave owners gained the right to pursue escape fugitives into free regions

2. Wilmot Proviso

2.1. 1848

2.2. wilmot proviso

2.3. 1852

2.4. Since the Missouri compromise did not apply to the large territory gained from Mexico in 1848, Representative David wilmot of Pennsylvania proposed that congress ban slavery in all territory that might become part of the United States as a result of the Mexican-American war to be "free soil," a place where slavery was banned.

3. Free-Soil Party

3.1. 1848

3.2. Free soil party

3.3. In the election of 1848, both the Whig party and the Democratic Party hoped to win by not taking a stand on the issue of slavery. Antislavery Whigs and democrats joined forces to create a new political party. It called for the territory gained the Mexican American war to be "free soil", a place where slavery was banned.

4. Election of Zachary Taylor

4.1. 1848

4.2. Election of Zachary Taylor

4.3. In the election of 1848, the controversy over the Wilmot proviso led to the development of the free soil party. Democrats mom instead senator Lewis case of Michigan, the Whigs nominated Zachary Taylor and the free soil party nominated former democrat president........ Senator cass suggested that the people in each new territory should decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery. Zachary Taylor, a hero of the Mexican american War won the election.

5. Compromise of 1850

6. Fugitive Slave Act

6.1. 1859

6.2. Fugitive slave act

6.3. Allowed special government officials to arrest any person accused of being a runaway slave. Suspects had no right to a trail to prove that they had been falsely accused. All it took was a slaveholder or any white witness to swear that the suspect was a slave holder's property. The law also required northern citizens to help capture accused runaways if authorities requested assistance.

7. Uncle Tom's Cabin

7.1. Uncle Tom cabin

7.2. Written by Stowe in 1852, it was novel about kindly Uncle Tom, an enslaved man who is abused by cruel Simon Legree. The book became a best seller in the north. It shocked thousands of people who been unconcerned with slavery before reading the book. The book caused people to view slavery as a human, moral problem and not just a political issue. White southners were outraged

8. Kansas-Nebraska Act

8.1. 1854

8.2. Kansas Nebraska act

8.3. Senator Stephen Douglas pushed though the act 1854 which led the nation closer to war. He wanted to se a railroad built from Illinois though the Nebraska territory to the pacific coast. He suggested creating two new territories the Kansas territory and the Nebraska territory. Both were above the Missouri compromise Line and would become free states which upset the southerners. To win southern support, he suggested that the issue of slavery be resolved by popular sovereigritiy. This would undo the Missouri compromise.

9. "Bleeding Kansas"

9.1. 1855

9.2. John brown

9.3. Both pro slavery and anti slavery settlers flooded to Kansas to try and win the majority. Thousands of people from Missouri entered Kansas in march of 1855 to vote illegally in the election of a territorial legislature. Kansas had 3000 voters but almost 8000 people voted. Of the 39 people elected, all but 3 supported slavery. Antislavery settlers refused to accept the results and held another election. Kansas now had two governments. Violence broke out. In April, a proslavery sheriff was shot when tried to arrest some antislavery settlers in town of Lawrence. He returned the next month with 800 men and attacked the town. Three days later John brown, an antislavery settlers from Connecticut let seven men to proslavery settlement near Pottawat creek a d murdered five proslavery men and boys. This started widespread fighting in Kansas.

10. Bloodshed in the Senate

11. Republican Party

11.1. 1854

11.2. John Fremont

11.3. The Whig party split in 1854 and many northern Whigs formed a political party called the Republican Party. Their main goal was stop the spread of slavery into the western territories. Their antislavery stand attracted many northern democrats and free-soil members. The party quickly became very powerful. In the first congressional elections held just a few months after the party was created, 105 of 245 candidates were to the House of Representatives. Democrats also lost control of two northern state legislatives. Two years later the party ran its first candidate for president, John c. Fermat.

12. Election of 1856

12.1. 1856

12.2. James buchannan

12.3. First republican candidate John C. Fremont (army officer who help win California's independence in the Mexican-American War) waged a strong antislavery campaign and won 11 of the 16 free states. Democrat James Buchannan won the election.

13. Dred Scott vs. Sanford Case

13.1. 1856

13.2. Dred Scott

13.3. Dred Scott was an enslaved person who had once been owned by a U.S Army doctor. They had lived in Illinois and Wisconsin for short time where slavery illegal. They settled in Missouri. With the help of an antislavery laywer, Scott sued for his freedom because he agrued that he was free because he had lived where slavery was illegal. The case reached the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court delivered its verdict in the case on march of 1857, three days after president Buchanan took office. Scott was not a free man for two reasons: 1) Scott had no right to sue in federal court because African Americans were not citizens; 2) merely living in free territory does not make an enslaved person free. Slaves were property and property rights were protected by the United States constitution. The ruling also said that congress didn't have the power to prohibit slavery in any territory. Thus, the Missouri compromise was unconstitutional. Southerners wre happy because slavery was legal in all territories. Northerners were upset because now slavery could spread to the west

14. The Lincoln and Douglas Debates

14.1. 1857

14.2. The Lincoln and Douglas debates

14.3. Lincoln was chosen as the presidential candidate for senate against senator Douglas in 1858. Lincoln and Douglas to a series of public debates. Thousands gathered to hear them speak. Newspapers reported what each man said throughout the nation. Douglas defended popular sovereignty and said each state had the right to decided for or against slavery. He painted Lincoln as a dangerous abolitionist who wanted equality for African American. Lincoln took a stand against the spread of slavery. He predicted that slavery would die out on its own but in the meantime Americans had an obligation to keep it out of the western territories. In the end Douglas won the elections but Lincoln was now known throughout the nation

15. John Brown Attacks Harper's Ferry

15.1. 1859

15.2. John brown attacks harpers ferry

15.3. John Brown was driven out of Kansas after the Pottawatomic creek massacre and returned to New England. He began a plot to free people in the south that were enslaved. In 1859, brown and a small group of supporters attacked the town of harpers ferry, Virginia. His goal was to take control of the guns that the U.S Army had stored there. He thought that enslaved African Americans would support him. He would give them weapons and led a revolt. He gained control of the guns but troops commanded by colonel Robert.E.Lee surrounded brown's force before they could escape. Ten of Brown's followers were killed. Brown was wounded and captured. At his trial, he sat quietly as the court found him guilty of milder and treason. He was hung in Virginia on December 2, 1859. Many people in the North considered him a hero. Southerners were shocked that northerners thought this about a person who tried to led a slave revolt against them

16. Political Parties Divide

16.1. 1860

16.2. Political parties divide

16.3. The democrats party spilt into two parties during the election of 1860 because northern democrats refused to support into slavery in the territories. Some southerners wanted to fix the problems between the north and south and formed the constitution union party. They wanted to protect slavery and keep the nation together.

17. Election of 1860

18. Southern States Secede

19. The Confederate States of America

20. The Crittenden Plan