Causes of The Civil War

Thesis: The flame of American Civil War was sparked by several events.  Each event drives the North and South further apart.  America had to choose which side to take.  


Preview of Conflict

Federal Authority vs. States' Rights
Nullification Crisis- Passed by South Carolina in 1832.  This was an event in which the powers of the Federal Government were unconstitutional due to their abusive powers in the decision making of the  Tariff of Abominations.  This was supported by John C. Calhoun.  

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions- Written by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison stating that states had the right to nullify federal laws based on whether they were unconstitutional or not.  They wanted a strict interpretation of The Constitution.  These were written in 1798.  

Federalist Papers- These were articles written by Alexander Hamilton stating that The Federal Government bound the powers of the States and this was unconstitutional according to a strict interpretation of The Constitution.  

Tenth Amendment- The Tenth Amendment states that the Constitutions principle of federalism is based by providing that powers not granted to the Federal Government by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the states, should be given to the states or the people.  This states that the states should have the power to nullify certain acts that are deemed unconstitutional.  

Economic Changes
A few economic changes during the Civil War were that the North started to change from an agricultural economy to an industrial one.  New technology advancements were also being created and implemented into factories allowing for better quality products.  More and more factories would be built, mainly for the textile industry that produced clothes from the cotton given from the South.  

The South did not change as much but their main crop was slowly turning into short staple cotton.  There were many plantations at the time that employed the work force of slavery which was a major issue at that time.  The main cause of the Civil War was for the sake of the slaves.  

Present- 19th Century

Compromise of 1850
The issue pertaining to this package of deals was on what the United States should do with the territory gained from the Mexican-American War.  The Compromise of 1850 allowed for five things.  Henry Clay was the one who proposed this compromise.  
1: California is a free state
2: Slave Trade banned in D.C.
3: Stronger Fugitive slave law
4: New Mexico Territory defined as Texas border dispute
5: Status of Mexico and Utah territories will be determined by "Popular Sovereignty"  
Purpose was to ease the tension between the Mexican land gain.

Kansas-Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was an act that created the lands of Kansas and Nebraska.  This act also 
went against what the Missouri Compromise stated.  Instead of going with the 36* 30' line judgment 
made by the Federal Government, the United States decided that slavery should be determined by popular sovereignty within these regions.  This also split the Northern Democrats and the Southern Democrats thus disrupting the harmony between both sides.  Bleeding Kansas was a mini civil war over whether or not Kansas should become a slave state, or a free state.  

Dredd Scott Decision
The Dredd Scott Decision was a court case between Dredd Scott and his owner over the freedom of his family and who had custody over the Scott family.  The main issue of this court case was whether slavery was determined by where people were born, in a slave state or in a free state, or whether they 
were born into the family who owned them as slaves.  If a slave owner went into a free state with their slave, was that slave still a slave, or was he free?  If a family was born into a free state and then taken back to a slave state, should they be considered free people or slaves?  The court ruled against Dredd Scott ruling that the power to declare slaves free or not free is not directly given in the Constitution.  This indirectly stated that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.  

Lincoln-Douglas Debates
These were a series of  debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephan Douglas.  The main issue of the debates was about slavery.  Lincoln argued that the United States cannot function properly while 
it is half slave and half free.  Lincoln  wanted a United States that was completely free and he reached he support of the people.  Lincoln stated that slavery was the path towards extinction.  Stephan Douglas was on the standpoint of popular sovereignty completely ignoring the morality of slavery.  

John Browns Raid on Harper Ferry
John Brown saw himself as God's instrument to abolish slavery so he made a plan to seize arms from 
an armory on Harpers Ferry.  He raided Harpers Ferrry on October, 1859 with his 22 men and attempted to steal the weapons to supply the rebel slaves however, the neighboring slaves chose not 
to help him thus he was defeated.  He was declared a traitor and was hung for treason.  The Northerners supported his ideals while Southerners did not so the South started to become uneasy because they thought that the North was trying to provoke a slave rebellion.  
Explore the song of John Brown here, http://youtu.be/jso1YRQnpCI.

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Election of 1860
The Election of 1860 consisted of Abraham Lincoln-Republican, John Bell-Constitutional Union, John C. Breckinridge-Democrat, and Stephan Douglas- Democrat.

The winner was Abrham Licoln and he won by a landslide.  This was the final straw for the South because with Lincoln as their president, the United States would start the process of abolishing slavery and Southerners couldn't work well without slaves.  The South decided to secede from the Union.