Causes of the Civil War

Invention of the Cotton Gin When: 1793 Who: Eli Whitney: Where: South What: Invention to remove seeds from

cotton

Invention of the Cotton Gin Effect:

– drastically increased the amount of cotton being produced, thus drastically increasing the number of slaves needed to harvest the cotton.

– This increased the tensions that slavery caused.

Missouri Compromise When: 1820 Who: Politicians Where: New states (Missouri and

Maine) What: Political compromise made

in 1820 between Northern and Southern politicians

Missouri Compromise Effect:

– Admitted Missouri as slave state, Maine as free state, prohibited slavery north of 36°30’ parallel (Missouri Compromise Line)

– Kept power in Senate equal

Compromise of 1850 When: 1850 Who: Congress Where: New Lands gained by the

Mexican Cession What:

– Congressional agreement on slavery:• admitted California as a free state• did not restrict slavery in New Mexico or Utah

(popular sovereignty )• Bans slave trade in Washington, D.C.• passed a stricter fugitive slave law, which said

that all persons must help to catch fugitive slaves

Compromise of 1850 Effect:

– upset North because it allowed slavery above old Missouri Compromise line, basically negating the Missouri Compromise

– Southerners loved it for the same reason

– Did not solve slavery issue– Caused sectional tensions

Uncle Tom’s Cabin When: 1852 Who: Written by Harriet Beecher

Stowe, who had never been to the South

Where: North What: Fictional book about slavery

in South

Uncle Tom’s Cabin Effect:

– Turned slavery from a political issue to a moral issue!

– Enraged & disgusted Northerners about slavery & the South

– Enraged Southerners who felt it was an unfair description of slavery

– Caused sectional tensions to heat up even more

Kansas-Nebraska Act When:1854 Who: Politicians Where: Kansas-Nebraska territory What:

– law that repealed Missouri Compromise – split the Nebraska territory into 2

separate territories, Kansas and Nebraska

– declared issue of slavery in Kansas and Nebraska territories would be left to residents (popular sovereignty)

Kansas-Nebraska Act Effect:

– Bloody Kansas• Violence broke out in Kansas in the late

1850’s between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions

• Eventually 2 separate gvn’ts were elected in Kansas, one pro, one con of slavery

– It was a warm-up exercise for the coming Civil War

Dred Scott Decision When: 1857 Who: Supreme Court Where: Illinois What:

– Supreme Court case that decided slaves did not have the rights of citizens

– Ruled Congress could not forbid slavery in the territories, making Missouri Compromise unconstitutional

Dred Scott Decision Effect:

– Opened slavery to new territories– South loved it, but North hated it – Sectional tensions escalated.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates When: 1858 Who: Abraham Lincoln and Stephen

Douglas Where: Illinois What:

– Series of debates between Stephen Douglas & Abraham Lincoln during 1858 senatorial election campaign

– Focused on issue of slavery

Lincoln-Douglas Debates Effect:

– Lincoln got Douglas to admit that popular sovereignty could be used to prevent the expansion of slavery into territories, which lost Douglas the support of the South

– South became aware of Lincoln’s views.

John Brown’s Raid When: 1859 Who: John Brown, an abolitionist Where: Harper’s Ferry, Virginia What:

– Tried to capture arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, and begin slave revolt

– Was captured and hung

John Brown’s Raid Effect:

– Made a martyr for Union (North) and abolitionist cause

– Southerners horrified/disgusted by North’s outright support of Brown’s actions

– sectional tension intensified

Election of 1860 When: 1860 Who: Lincoln, Douglas, Bell,

Breckinridge Where: United States What: Lincoln (viewed by the

South as an abolitionist) was elected president

Election of 1860 Effect:

– Showed split in the nation over slavery– Southern states seceded after hearing

of Lincoln’s win– Feared they would lose slavery under

his rule– Caused North to take military

measures to keep Union together– Set stage for Fort Sumter attack and

start of war.

Sectional Tension The people in the Northern

states and Southern states became more and more politically, socially, and economically divided.

Sectional Tension The cotton gin caused the Southern states

to follow its agricultural ways, while the Northern states became more industrialized (they could not grow cotton in the North - too cold)

Northern and Southern states found it increasingly difficult to relate to one another, especially when it came to the topic of slavery

They began to see themselves as separate “sections” of the nation - sections which had very little in common

Sectional Tension Several compromises were

attempted by both sides to try and overcome the problems between them regarding the slavery issue

All compromises eventually failed The result would be the build-up

of sectional tensions which would eventually lead to war