Transcript Road to the Civil War

Road to the Civil War
The Civil War (1861-1865)
• a period of war between Northern + Southern
states
– Army of the Union (U.S.)- 23 states
– Confederate States of America (C.S.A.)- 11 states
• 600,000 soldiers died
– More than all the deaths of our other campaigns!
– Over ½ die from disease than bullets
A Deeply Divided America
• 31,000,000 citizens
– 34 states (Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas)
– 3,000,000 slaves in South (½ of total pop.)
– Blacks born & live in filth, disease,
ignorance
• Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan were
Presidents between 1849-1861
– Largely ineffective - inactions helped
further the cause for war
Compromise of 1850
• In 1849, there were 15 slave states and 15 free
states
• California applied for statehood
• Oregon, Utah and New Mexico were close to
applying for statehood
• ALL wanted to be free states
• This would upset the balance
• Southern slave states feared they would lose votes
in the Senate
Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
“Bleeding Kansas”
Dred Scott Decision - FACTS:
• Dred Scott was a slave from Missouri. (MO)
• Scott and his owner moved to Wisconsin for
four years.
• Scott’s owner died after returning to Missouri.
• Scott sued for his freedom. He claimed that
he should be a free man since he lived in a free
territory (WI) for four years.
Dred Scott
SUPREME COURT
DECISIONS:
Q: Was Scott a U.S.
citizen with the right to
sue?
A: NO
Q: Did living in a free
territory make Scott a
free man?
A: NO
Q: Did Congress have
the right to outlaw
slavery in any territory?
A: NO
RESULTS:
• Dred Scott was not given his freedom.
• The Missouri Compromise was found to be unconstitutional.
Causes of the Civil War
Why Texas Got Involved
1. Sectionalism
Sectionalism - loyalty to your state or
section of the country first and the nation
second
:
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Texas grew the chief cash crop, cotton
Texas had an economy based on agriculture,
a plantation lifestyle, the views of the
Democratic party, and the institution of
slavery.
Sectionalism
Why was the north AGAINST sectionalism?
North wanted to preserve the Union.
Why was the south FOR sectionalism?
South wanted the ability to choose what they
thought was best for their state (slavery).
2. States’ Rights
North was AGAINST
states’ rights because
they thought laws
applied to ALL states.
States’ Rights: theory that a state could
choose whether to obey or enforce federal
laws
Southerners supported states’ rights. They
believed that they had the right to own slaves and
even secede, or leave the Union, if they desired.
United
States
Law
Texas & seceding states believed Federal gov’t
should not be involved in state decisions
3. Tariffs
We also support a
higher tariff
Tariffs: a tax placed on imported
goods
-NORTH was FOR tariffs because
most industry was located in the
north.
REPUBLICAN
Tariffs
-SOUTH was AGAINST tariffs because they were
afraid the taxes would destroy their economy.
Texans – low tariffs to continue to trade cotton
with European nations
4. Slavery
Slavery - main cause of the Civil War
The South viewed
slavery as a necessity
to maintain their
economy. Texans &
South believed slavery
was vital to the
economy
However, many
people in the North
viewed slavery as
evil and
unconstitutional.
4. Slavery
Tariffs: Southern economy depended on slavery 
high tariffs would hurt the southern economy
States’ Rights: Southern states wanted to be able to
decide for themselves whether to have slavery or
not
Sectionalism: Southern states put their interests
ahead of the nation’s interest of staying unified
The Election of 1860
Lincoln’s election in 1860 angers South – slaveholders
call him “The Black Republican” - S. Carolina secedes
on Dec. 20, 1860
Lincoln elected president – 16th President
Lincoln wins 180 of 303 electoral votes
Won only 40% of popular vote
REPUBLICAN
When Republican Abraham Lincoln won the
Election of 1860, Southerners believed that
their rights would no longer be respected.
Many southerners believed it was time to
leave the Union.
Secession Convention
Confederacy:
11 states
Union:
20 states
Secede:
Withdraw or break
away from the Union
TX officially seceded in 1861
– TX joins the Confederacy
At the Secession
Convention, Texas’s
lawmakers voted to
secede by a vote of
166 to 8, and the
people of Texas voted
for secession by a
margin of more than 3
to 1. Texans believed
citizens should be
allowed to own slaves
1861: Secession Map
Sam Houston was Governor
• Houston was against Texas’s secession.
• After secession passed Houston hoped Texas
would then remain independent, instead of
joining the Confederacy.
• Texas Secession Convention ordered all state
officials take an oath of allegiance to Confederacy
•Houston’s refusal to swear oath to Confederacy
led him to be removed as governor
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Southern States
Secede
Lincoln becomes
President of USA
1860
1861