Causes of the Civil War

Causes of the Civil War

Table of Contents Vocabulary Page 1 Differences North & South Page 2 Tariffs Page 3 Sectionalism Page 4 States’ Rights Page 5 Secession Page 6 Western Territories Page 7 Slavery in the Territories Page 8

Table of Contents Missouri Compromise Page 9 Compromise of 1850 Page 10 Probs. With Comp. 1850 Page 11 Kansas-Nebraska Act Page 12 Dred Scott Decision Page 13 Election of 1860 Page 14 Summary Page 15

Vocabulary • tariffs – taxes on imported goods • sectionalism – putting the interests of a region above those of the nation • states’ rights – belief that the states had Constitutional rights the national government could not take away • secession – the action of withdrawing from the Union • nullification – belief that a state did not have to follow laws that did not benefit the state • territory – frontier area belonging to the United States • popular sovereignty – people in a territory would vote if they would be slave or free

Differences Between North & South North South Economy – Agricultural Against high tariffs Rural with few large cities Believed in states’ rights For expansion of slavery into western territories • Economy – Industrial • Wanted high tariffs • Urban with many cities • Against states’ rights • Against expansion of slavery into the west

Tariffs • Tariffs are taxes on imported goods which make imported goods more expensive. • Tariffs protected goods made by Northern industries which would cost less than imported goods. • The North liked high tariffs. • The South was against high tariffs because they hurt southern trade relations with Europe.

Sectionalism • Both the North and the South were more focused on what was best for their section than what was best for the whole nation. • The North wanted high tariffs which hurt the agricultural economy of the South. • The South wanted to protect its agricultural economy.

States’ Rights • Southerners believed that the states had rights that the national government could not take away. • States’ rights were the rights the Constitution did not state belonged to the national government. • This included secession and nullification. • The North disagreed.

Secession • Secession was part of the states’ rights belief. • Southerners believed that the U.S. Constitution was simply a compact or agreement among independent states. • Since states joined the Union voluntarily, the states could secede or leave voluntarily at any time. • The North disagreed.

The Western Territories • The United States had territories west of the Mississippi River. • Southerners believed the land in the west should be distributed quickly and cheaply so that it could be developed for agriculture. • The North wanted the western territories to become industrialized.

Slavery in the Territories • For the North and South to have equal power in Congress, there had to be an equal number of free and slave states. • The question arose: Should the new states from the western territories be free states or slave states? • Compromises were used to try to settle the issue.

Missouri Compromise - 1820 • The Missouri territory applied for admission to the Union at the same time as Maine. • In this compromise, Maine entered as a free state and Missouri entered as a slave state. • Also, slavery would not be allowed north of the 36° 30’ line of latitude. • This maintained a balance of power between free and slave states.

Compromise of 1850 • In 1840, the U.S. gained territory to the Pacific Ocean. • In 1845, Texas won its freedom from Mexico and entered the U.S. as a slave state. • Argument broke out over California. • The Compromise of 1850 - California entered as a free state, and the Fugitive Slave Law was written requiring that escaped slaves be returned.

Problems with theCompromise of 1850 • Instead of a state’s location, popular sovereignty would determine if a new state would be free or slave. • This meant the people would vote. • South Carolina threatened to secede. • Georgia leaders met to discuss secession. • “The Georgia Platform” stated that Georgia would abide by the Compromise of 1850 if the North would do so. This stopped secession.

Kansas-Nebraska Act1854 • Kansas-Nebraska Act stated that popular sovereignty would decide if these states would be slave or free. • Thousands of people from North and South rushed to gain control of these territories. • Fighting between the two groups was so savage that the area was called “Bleeding Kansas”.

Dred Scott Decision • Dred Scott was a slave whose owner moved with him to a free state. • Dred Scott said that he should be free. • The Supreme Court decided against him and that Congress could not ban slavery from the territories and that slaves were property of their owners.

Election of 1860 • Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. • Southern leaders thought he would end slavery. • This was not true about Lincoln – he had no intention of ending slavery. • He wanted to stop its expansion. • He stated his only goal was to save the Union with or without slavery. • Southern leaders did not believe him, and many states began to plan for secession.

SummaryCauses of the Civil War • Regional and economic differences. • Tariffs • Sectionalism • States’ Rights • Westward expansion of slavery • Missouri Compromise • Compromise of 1850 • Kansas-Nebraska Act • Election of 1860

Causes of the Civil War