Causes of the civil war By:Carlos Arana

1. Free-Soil Party

1.1. In the election of 1848 , both the Whigs party and the democrat 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 in the Mexican-American war to be "free soil" , a place where slavery was banned.

2. Election of Zachary Taylor

2.1. In the election of 1848 ,the controversy over the democrats led to the development of Zachary Taylor and the free-soil party nominated former democrat president Martin van Buren senator Cass suggested that the people in each new territory should vote for themselves whether or not to allow slavery. Zachary Taylor a hero of the Mexican-American war won the election.

3. The Fugitive Slave Act

3.1. Allowed special government officials to arrest any person accused of being a runaway slave. Suspect had no right to trail to prove that 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.

4. "Bleeding Kansas"

4.1. 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 3,000 voters but almost 8,000 people voted. of the 39 people (legislator) 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 pro slavery sheriff was shot when he tried to arrest some anti-slavery settlers in the town of Lawrence. he returned the next with 800 men to attack the town. three days later john brown , an antislavery settler from Connecticut let seven men to a pro-slavery settlement near Pottawatomie creek and murdered five proslavery men and boys. This started widespread fighting in kansas

5. Bloodshed in the Senate (Senator Charles summer attacked)

5.1. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was the leading abolition senator and made fiery speeches denouncing the pro-slavery legislature in Kansas. in one of his speeches he singled out Andrew butler who was an elderly senator from south Carolina who was not present when he gave his speech. a few days later his nephew , congressman Preston Brooks, marched into the senate chamber and beat Sumner with a heavy cane until he fell to the floor bloody and unconscious. Sumner never really recovered from his injuries.

6. Election of 1856

6.1. First Republican canidate John C. Fremont (army officer who helped win California's independence in the Mexican-American War) waged a strong antislavery campaign and won 11 of the 16 free states. Democrat James Buchanan won the election.

7. Dred Scott vs. Stanford case

7.1. Dred Scott was an enslaved person person who had once been owned by a U.S Army Doctor. They had lived in Illinois and Wisconsin territory for a short time where slavery was illegal . They settled in Missouri With the help of an antislavery lawyer , Scott sued for his freedom because he argued the 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. Chief justice for two reasons:1 . Scott had no rights 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 slavery in any territory. thus , the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. Northerners were upset because now slavery could spread to the west.

8. The Lincoln and Douglas Debates

8.1. Lincoln was chosen as the Whig candidate for senate against the Senator Douglas in 1858. Lincoln and Douglas were political and personal rivals (both had dated Mary Todd and she married Lincoln). Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of 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 dangerous abolitionist who wanted equality for African American. Lincoln took a stand against the spreading 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. Douglas won the elections but Lincoln was now known throughout the nation.

9. John Brown Attacks Harpers Ferry

9.1. John brown was driven out of Kansas after the Pottawatomie 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 ferry, Virginia. his goal was to take control of support him. He would give them weapons and led a revolt. He gained control of guns but troops commanded by colonel Robert Elee surrounded Brown's force before they could escape. Ten of brown's followers were killed. Brown was wounded and captured. At his Virginia on December 2, 1859. Many people in the north considered him a herb. Southerners were shocked that Northerners thought this about a person who tried to led a revolt against them.

10. Political Parties Divide

10.1. The Democrats party split into two parties during the election of 1860 because Northern Democrats refused to support slavery in the territories. Some Southerners wanted to fix the problems between the North and the South and formed the Constitution Union Party. They wanted to protect slavery and keep the nation together.

11. Election of 1860

11.1. Republican chose Abraham Lincoln to run for president in 1860. Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas as their candidate. Southern democrats chose vice president John Breckenridge of Kentucky. The constitution Union nominated John Bell of Tennessee. The selection showed just had fragmented the nation had become. Lincoln won every free state and Breckenridge won all slave states except four. Bell won Kentucky ,Tennessee , and Virginia . Douglas won Missouri. Lincoln received 40% of the popular vote but received enough electoral votes to win the election and become President.

12. Southern States Secede

12.1. Lincoln election made the south feel that they no longer had a voice in the national government. They believed that the president and congress were against their interests , especially slavery. South Carolina seceded (left the united states) first when news of Lincolns election reached the state. They called for a special convention. On December 20, 1860 the convention passed a declaration that "the union now subsisting between south Carolina and the other sates, under the name of the United States Of America is hereby dissolved . 6 more states followed south Carolina out of the Union.

13. The Confederate States of America

13.1. In February of 1861, the leaders of the seven states that left the Union met in Montgomery, Alabama to form a new Nation that they called the Confederate States of America. By the time Lincoln took office in March,they had written a Constitution and named former senator Jefferson as President.

14. The Crittenden Plan

14.1. A plan developed by senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky to compromise with the South one last time. It was presented to congress in late February, 1861 while the south was forming its new government but it did not pass.

15. The Economy of The North & South

15.1. The north was industrial with factory and paid workers. The south was agricultural with large plantations and a small farms. Slave labor used in the south.

16. Missouri Compromise

16.1. 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 Missouri. It's addition to the United States threatened to upset the balance between free states and slave states . In 1820 , senator Henry clay persuaded congress to approve the Missouri compromise . The Missouri compromise stated : 1. Marine was admitted as a free state. 2. Missouri was admitted as a slave state 3. lousianna north of Missouri's southern border was free 4. Southern slave owners gain the right to pursue fugitives into free religions.

17. Wilmot Proviso

17.1. Since the Missouri compromise did not apply to the large territory gained from from Mexico in 1848 Representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania proposed that congress ban slavery all territories that might become part the United States as a result of the Mexican-American war. The proposal passed in the but failed in the senate.

18. The Compromise of 1850

18.1. Gold was found in California and thousands moved to the area. Soon the territory had enough people to be admitted as a state. Since it was above the Missouri compromise line , people felt it would be a free state. This angered the south and they threatened to secede (leave the union) . The compromise was proposed by senator Henry clay of Kentucky in January ,1850 . He hoped the compromise would end the debate over fugitive forever . This proposal produced one of the greatest debates in American political history. President Taylor opposed the compromise but died and the new president Millard Fillmore supported it. Congress passes five series of bills in September , 1850 that become known as the compromise of 1850. 1. California was admitted to the union as a free state.2. Slave trade was banned in the nations capital . 3. Congress declared that it could not regulate the slave trade between slave states. 4.popular sovereignty (the people would vote ) would be used to determine the issue of slavery in the rest of the Mexican cession. 5. The south received a new fugitive salve law.

19. Uncle Toms Cabin

19.1. written by wartier beacher stove in 1852, it was a novel about kindly uncle tom , an enslaved man who is abused by the cruel Simon Legree. the book became a best seller in the north . it shocked thousands of people who had 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 southerners were outraged.

20. The Kansas-Nebraska act

20.1. Senator Stephen Douglas pushed through the act in 1854 which led the nation closer to Illinois . he wanted to see a railroad built from Illinois through the Nebraska territory to the pacific coast. he suggested creating two new territories the Kansas territory and the Nebraska territory. to win southern support, he suggested that the issue of slavery be resolved by popular sovereignty. this would undo the Missouri Compromise.

21. Republican Party

21.1. The Whig party split in 1854 and many northern Whigs formed a new political party called the republican party. their main goal was to 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 105 of 245 candidates were elected to the House of Representatives. Democrats also lost control of two northern states legislature. two years later the party ran its first canidate for president , John C. Fremont.