1820

Causes of the Civil War

"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas (1845)

Lincoln's Election (1860)

Bleeding Kansas (1854-1861)

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)

Tariff Increase of South Carolina

Dred Scott Case (1857)

Missouri Compromise of 1820

Frederick Douglass, a former slave, turns into an abolitionist and writer. He learned to read and write at the home of his first slave master who was very kind and reasonable. Douglass’ second however, beat him constantly and this only stopped when Frederick fought back. During this time Frederick wrote his autobiography, ”Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” which was a big hit especially in the North. He wrote about how he was treated as a slave and how slaves can make a difference by fighting back. This book shook the South because they knew how true it was.

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s controversial novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, was published in 1852. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an antislavery novel that chronicled what it was like to live as a slave. In the novel, the main character is a slave who is eventually beaten to death by his overseer. Another character in the novel struggles with life as a runaway slave and escaping enslavement with her young son by her side. Many people sympathized with the slaves after this novel was published. However, the South greatly criticized it and this in turn, led to an increase in opposition between the North and South.

Bleeding Kansas consisted of a series of events concerning disagreements between abolitionists and pro-slavery advocates. Newly proposed abolition and pro-slavery constitutions were being proposed which led to violent conflict in Kansas territory. Also, people were traveling from bordering states into Kansas and voting in elections concerning slavery. This act caused much controversy and chaos in “Bleeding Kansas.”

The Dred Scott v. Sanford case took place in the year of 1857. In this case, a slave, Dred Scott, attempted to sue his slave owner and grant himself freedom from being enslaved. Scott stated that his owner had traveled throughout several free states with him, meaning that Scott didn’t have to remain a slave in a free state. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled that slaves did not have the power to sue and because they were treated as property, they could travel into free territory and still be enslaved.

The election of Abraham Lincoln was a major point in the time period before the war. The South was very much against Lincoln because they knew of his hatred for slavery. Being a Republican, not many liked Lincoln except for some in the North so he did not win the popular vote. Yet he did win the electoral vote and was voted into office. As soon as South Carolina heard this, they asked for secession from the Union.

The Missouri Compromise was one of the first efforts made by Congress to keep the Slavery dispute under wraps. It stated that the line below Virginia would define a state as slave or not. Slave states would be below the line, except Missouri, which would be a new state above the line, and all other slave states formed before the compromise. This, in turn, led to more conflict later on when California was admitted into Union later, upsetting the balance between Slave States and Free States, causing this compromise to be replaced with the Compromise of 1850.

A high tariff was passed from Congress on the South in 1832. The goal of the tariff was to force the South to sell more cotton and raw materials to the North so that the American economy could prosper. The government was starting to see that the South could be independent by using their trade with Britain and they wanted to eliminate that thought before it grew. The tariff wasn’t even as high as the Tariff of Abominations had been but it was the unecessary control that threw the South over the edge.

1855

1840

1850

1860

1820

Panic of 1857

Southern Agricultural Independence

Battle of Bull Run (1861)

South Carolina Secession (1860)

John Brown's Raid (1859)

The Compromise of 1850

Need for Slave Labor on Southern Plantations

Formation of the Republican Party

The Panic of 1857, affecting the North more than the South, was caused by overpopulation and declined demand. The industrial-based North saw a large influx of immigrants, mainly of Irish descent, causing a need for more jobs. Unfortunately, these areas became overpopulated and as demand for products decreased, so did available jobs. The South, however, was not as hurt by this panic, due to the never-ending need for cotton worldwide. The North grew jealous and eventually called for the abolition of slavery to create more jobs for the unemployed.

John Brown was a radical abolitionist from the U.S.. He led the Pottawatomie Creek Massacre in 1856. After the Pottawatomie Creek incident, John Brown still wasn’t finished. In 1859, he led an unsuccessful invasion in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. He was then trialed for death and hung.

The first Battle of Bull Run, or First Manassas, was the first battle of the Civil War. It occurred in Manassas, VA, which is near Washington DC between, obviously, the Confederate and Union forces. After the downfall of Fort Sumter, the North called for an invasion of the Confederate Capitol of Richmond. This, in turn, led to an attempt to march into Richmond, which was stopped in Manassas. Until the Battle of Gettysburg, Bull Run was the largest, bloodiest battle in American history.

The need for slave labor in the South spread across the globe, from the Southern plantations that produced crops to factories worldwide. Without slave labor, many believed that the South’s economy would crash as well, for slaves held up the economy. Cotton was in high demand at this time and was being produced in mass quantities in the South which, with slaves, could go much faster and earn much more money for plantation owners being that the slaves were unpaid. This cotton, in turn, was shipped worldwide to factories in the North, Britain, and other industrial countries, creating an immediate demand for cotton and, with a demand for cotton, comes a demand for slave labor.

A few years before the Republican Party came to be, a small third-party known as the Free-Soil Party was formed from the remains of the former Whig Party. The dispute over slave labor in the South divided the nation, therefore dividing our government. Around 1854, the Democratic Party split after much tension over the Compromise of 1850 and the half that split off joined with the Free-Soil Party to form the Republican Party. The republican party was considered a third-party at first, but at it grew, more and more concern arose about the anti-slavery party.

As Abraham Lincoln was elected into office, the southern states took this as the last straw. The southern states had been taking notice to Lincoln’s views and knew the slavery issue would be done for if he was elected. When Lincoln refused South Carolina’s request for secession, the South decided it was time for bloodshed and eventually war.

The South, the “Cotton Kingdom”, was prospering greatly with slavery. The agricultural plantations were selling raw materials to the North, and Britain. As a tariff was put on the South to make them trade more with the North. The government could see that the South was becoming a bigger trade partner with Britain than within their own country. The South realized this also and began to think about independence because their economy was booming. Quite frankly, they did not need the North.

The Compromise of 1850 was a set of bills passed by the U.S. Congress to abolish conflict between slave and free states. The states were conflicted with arguments regarding the status of territory that had been won during the Mexican- American War. The final product of the Compromise of 1850 consisted of California admitted as a free state, D.C. banning the slave trade, and Texas giving up land claims in the North. In the South, Texas was paid $10 million for the land they had lost, a new Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 was passed, and popular sovereignty was introduced to the Mexican Cession.