Causes of the American Civil War By: Malcolm Barclay

1. Missouri Compromise

1.1. 1820

1.2. Missouri Compromise

1.3. In 1820 Henry Clay Persuaded Congress to approve the Missouri Compromise. Missouri Compromise stated that Maine was admitted as a free state, Missouri was admitted as a slave state, Louisiana Territory north of Missouri's southern boarder was free, Southern slave owners gained the right to peruse escaped Fugitives

2. Wilmot Proviso

2.1. 1848

2.2. Wilmot Proviso

2.3. Since the Missouri Compromise didn't 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. The proposal passed in the House but failed in the senate

3. Free-Soil Party

3.1. 1848

3.2. Free-Soil Party

3.3. In the election of 1848, both the Lewis Cass party and the Democratic Party hoped hoped to win by not taking stand on the issue of popular sovereignty. Antislavery Whigs and Democratic joined forces to create a new political party. It called for the territory gained in the Mexican-American War 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. The election of 1848, the controversy over the Wilmot Proviso led to the development of the Free-Soil Party. Democrats nominated Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan, the Whigs Nominated Zachary Taylor, and Free-Soil party nominated Democratic President Martin Buren. Not To Allow Slaver. Zachary Taylor, a hero of the Mexican-American war won election

5. The Compromise of 1850

5.1. 1850

5.2. The Compromise of 1850

5.3. 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.

6. The Fugitive Slave Act

6.1. 1850

6.2. The Fugitive Slave Act

6.3. Allowed special government officials to arrest any person accused of being a runaway slave. Suspects had no right to 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 holders property. The law also required northern citizens to help capture accused runaways if authorities request assistance

7. Uncle Tom's Cabin

7.1. 1852

7.2. Uncle Tom's Cabin

7.3. Written by Stowe in 1852, it was a novel about kindly Uncle Tom, an enslave man who is abused by the cruel Simon Legree. The book became a best seller in the North. It shocked thousands people who had been unconcerned w/ slavery before the reading book. The book caused people to view slavery as a human, moral problem and not just a political issue. White slave owners were outraged

8. The Kansas-Nebraska Act

8.1. 1854

8.2. The Kansas-Nebraska Act

8.3. Senator Stephan Douglas pushed through the Act in 1854 which led the nation closer to war. 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. Both were above the Missouri Comprise Line and would become free states which upsets the southerners. To win southern support, he suggested that issue of slavery be resolved by popular sovereignty. This would undo the Missouri Compromise

9. "Bleeding Kansas"

9.1. 1855

9.2. Bleeding Kansas

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 illegally in the election of a territorial legislature. Kansas had 3,000 voters but almost 8,000 people voted

10. Bloodshed in the Senate

10.1. 1856

10.2. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts

10.3. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was the leading abolitionist senator and made fiery speeches denouncing the proslavery 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 senate chamber and beat Sumner w/ a heavy cane until he fell to the floor bloody & unconscious. Sumner never really recover from his injuries

11. Republican Party

11.1. 1854

11.2. Republican Party

11.3. The Whigs party split in 1854 and many northern Whigs formed a new political party called 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 few months after the party was created, 105 of 245 candidates were lectern to the House of Representives

12. Election of 1856

12.1. 1856

12.2. Election of 1856

12.3. First Republican canidate John C. Fremont an army officer who help win California's independence in the Mexian-American war , waged a strong antislavery campaign an won 11 of the 16 free states. Democrat James Buchancan won the election

13. Dred Scott vs. Sanford Case

13.1. 1857

13.2. Dred Scott vs. Sanford Case

13.3. Dred Scott was a enslaved person who had once been owned by a U.S. Army doctor. They lived in Illinois & 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 that he was a free because he had lived where slavery was illegal

14. The Lincoln and Douglas Debates

14.1. 1858

14.2. Lincoln and Douglas Debates

14.3. Lincoln was chosen as the Republicans candidate for Senate against Senator Stephen Douglas in 1858. Lincoln and Douglas were political and personal rivals. Lincoln challenge Douglas to a series of public despites. Thousands gathered to hear them speak.

15. John Brown Attacks Harpers Ferry........

15.1. 1859

15.2. John Brown Attacks Harpers Ferry

15.3. 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 enslave. In 1859, Brown and a small group of supports attacked the town of harpers ferry, Virginia. His goal was to take control of the guns that the U.S. Army had stored there

16. Political Parties Divide

16.1. 1860

16.2. Political Parties Divide

16.3. The Democrats Party spilt into 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.

17. Election of 1860

17.1. 1860

17.2. Election of 1860

17.3. Republican chose Abraham Lincoln to run for president in 1860. Northern Democrats nominated Stephan Douglas as their candidate. Southern Democrats chose Vice President John Breckinridge of Kentucky. The Constitution Union nominated John Bell of Tennessee. The election showed just had fragment the nation had become. Lincoln won every election

18. Southern States Secede

18.1. 1860

18.2. Southern States Secede

18.3. Lincoln's election made the South feel that they feel no longer had a voice in the national government. They believe that the President and Congress were against their interests, especially slavery. South Carolina seceded. On December 20, 1860 the convention passed a declaration that "the union now subsisting between South Carolina and the other states, under the name of the United States of America is hereby dissolved

19. The Confederate of America

19.1. 1861

19.2. The Confederate of America

19.3. In Febuary of 1861, the leaders of the seven spec states that left the Union met in Montgomery,Alambama 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 Douis as president

20. The Crittenden Plan

20.1. 1861

20.2. John J. Crittenden

20.3. A plan developed by Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky to Compromise w/ the South one last time. It was present to Congress in late Febuary, 1861 while the South was forming its own new government but it didn't get to pass