Transcript Causes of the Civil War

Mindset #37
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Read “The Missouri Compromise” on page 168 and
answer the following questions:
How did Missouri entering the Union create an
imbalance of power?
What was Missouri’s view on slavery? How did the
North try and change this?
What were the three provisions under the Missouri
Compromise?
Name two reasons the south was unhappy with the
Missouri Compromise.
THINKER: Do you think the Missouri
Compromise was a fair deal? Why or why not?
Causes of the Civil War
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.
I believe this government cannot endure
permanently half slave and half free…”
-Abraham Lincoln
Discussion
What do you think caused the Civil
War?
The Compromise of 1850
• prohibited the slave trade in Washington,
D.C.
• admitted California to the Union as a free
state
• gave newly acquired territories the right to
decide for themselves whether to permit
slavery
• included a strict fugitive slave law that
required Northerners to return escaped
slaves to their owners
The Fugitive Slave Law
• The fugitive slave law made northerners
accomplices to slavery, and was very expensive.
• Runaways were denied the right to trial, special
commissions handled cases, and received $5-$10
for every runaway.
• The law also required free citizens to assist
enforcement.
• Northerners rioted and some cities refused to
cooperate with the law.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
• allowed Kansas and Nebraska to decide
whether to allow slavery
• caused a rush of pro and anti slavery
“settlers” to fight for control (bleeding
Kansas)
• One southern senator even beat a northern
senator with his cane on the Senate floor
because of a speech he made about Kansas
The Dred Scott Decision
• a slave claimed freedom because he
had lived for a time in a free state and
territory
• the court declared that no black could
be a United States citizen
• Congress could not prohibit slavery
Dred Scott Case
1. What effect did the conflict over slavery have on American
political parties?
2. Who was Roger B. Taney?
3. Why did Scott think he was a free man? (Think about where
he was living with Emerson)
4. Summarize the main arguments for Dred Scott and for
Sanford.
5. What was the law on freedom according to Taney?
6. Why was the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional?
7. What power did the states have over Congress in regards to
slavery?
8. What happened to Dred Scott after the Supreme Court
decision?
John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry
• October 1859, John Brown led an interracial band of
21 men in an attack on the federal arsenal at Harpers
Ferry, VA.
• Hoped to spark a slave rebellion
• Brown and his men were captured within 36 hours
• Revolt led to intense public reaction
– Southern whites were terrified of a massive slave rebellion
– However, not one slave was part of John Brown’s group
John Brown’s Trial
• An eloquent speaker – swayed public opinion
• Gain Northern supporters
• Sentenced to hang
Closure
• List the events that led to the Civil War.
• What was the main cause of the Civil War?