Transcript States` rights

Introduction to the
Civil War
Chapter 15
Concept of the Union
The United States had been a slave
holding nation from its beginnings
Southerners felt that Slave Ownership was
a right that could not be taken away by
the federal government
The U.S. Constitution never dealt with the
issue of “Slavery”
Concept of the Union
Many southerners based their argument
for slavery on the idea of states’ rights.
States’ Rights is the belief that the
Federal government should not interfere
with the states’ exercise of their
constitutional powers
Concept of the Union
This idea is based on the Reserve
Clause of the United States Constitution
Reserve Clause –

Any powers not granted to the National
government by the Constitution were reserved
for the State government
Antebellum America
The North and South greatly differed
politically by the 1850s, but there were
many similarities.
Both sections of the country were still
dominated by Agriculture


North – small individual farms that grew
wheat
South – larger farms and plantations that
grew cotton
Antebellum America
Most of the country was still rural,
although many cities are starting to grow
In the Northeast, industry and business
are starting to grow and dominate the
economy.
Cotton is still the most important National
Export.
Antebellum America
There is a long standing pride in the
American Revolution and creation of the
nation
Manifest Destiny brings a stronger sense
of pride to both parts of the country, but
also leads to the sectional divide between
North and South
Antebellum Population
27 million whites counted in the 1860
census
19 million whites lived in the North
500,000 African-Americans lived in
the North.
Antebellum Population
8 million whites lived in the slave
owning states of the South.
390,000 owned slaves
Antebellum Population
4 million African-Americans lived in the
South


3.75 Million were slaves
261,988 were free usually in urban centers
like New Orleans
over 3000 free African-Americans owned
slaves themselves
Restrictions on free African-Americans
were severe, however. They could not
move from one state to another.
Northern industry
Many resources
Coal, iron,
Fast rivers + falls =
lots of power
Many manufacturing
areas
Inventions selfcreated
Northern farms
Land poor quality
small farms possible
Hire farm hands
Many farmers own a
little land each
Immigrants provide
labor pool
Southern industry
Few resources
Land major resource
Slow rivers+ few falls
= little power
Few manufacturing
areas
Inventions imported
Southern
75% are subsistence
farmers
Few people own
most land
“King Cotton” cash
crop
Slaves are labor pool
Slave-basedeconomy
Slave based economy
Land rich
Large farms possible
Own labor pool
Slaves provide labor
pool
Most products
needed produced on
the plantation
Southern Society in 1850s
Upper Class
Slave Elite
Middle Class
Had Few Slaves
Lower Middle Class
Had 1 or 2 Slaves
Lower Class – Had No Slaves
Slaves
Southern Society in 1850s
Upper Class
Slave Elite
Middle Class
Had Few Slaves
Lower Middle Class
Had 1 or 2 Slaves
Lower Class – Had No Slaves
Slaves
Introduction to the
Civil War
Chapter 15
Issues Divide the Country
During the time after the MexicanAmerican war, the United States began
to form a great divide between Northern
and Southern states
This divide was formed over many
issues that eventually would lead the
nation down the road to Civil War
Issues Divide the Country
States’ rights –
 Northern states viewed states rights’
as subject to the federal
government’s laws

Southern states favored states’ rights
over the federal government; felt the
state was sovereign
Issues Divide the Country
Slavery –
 Northern states were anti-slavery,
especially the expansion into the
territories

Southern states supported the
system and expansion of slavery and
felt it was a states’ right issue. “The
Southern way of life”
Issues Divide the Country
Tariffs – Taxes on Imported Goods
 Northern states supported the tariffs
to protect the American products

Southern states were against the
tariffs and felt they would destroy the
Southern economy
Issues Divide the Country
Internal Improvements – (i.e. Railroads)
 Northern states supported the federal
governments role in creating internal
improvements

Southern states felt that these issues
were better left to each state to
control within its borders.
Issues Divide the Country
Different Economies


Northern states had many small
individual farms. Business and
Industry was growing in the North.
South had a slave-based economy.
Small number of very large
plantations and then many small
farms. Relied on imported goods.
Border States
Missouri
Kentucky
Maryland
Delaware
Virginia (Western Counties)
Southern States Vow to Secede
During the 1860 presidential campaign,
some southern leaders threatened that
if the republicans won the election the
south would secede from the Union
These leaders argued that sovereignty
rested with the states and not with the
federal government
Secession
Secede – to withdraw from a group
Secession – The act of withdrawing
from a group
Compact Theory
South believed that since the states
had chosen to join the Union, they
could choose to leave
North did not agree
Union Theory
The North believed that the Union
was perpetual.
Once a state joined the Union, it had
no power to decide to leave the
Union
Southern Opinions on Secession
Secessionists –
 wanted immediate break from the
Union after Lincoln’s election
Cooperationists –
 wanted to wait and see what Lincoln
did before seceding
Unionists –
 remained loyal to the United States
Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln – a Republican –
won the election of 1860
Immediately the state of South
Carolina voted to secede from the
Union in December

5 states followed in January
Texans urged Governor Sam
Houston to call a convention to
discuss secession
Convention Votes on Secession
Governor Sam Houston opposed the
secession of Texas
Houston refused to call a special
session of the legislature to discuss
the issue
Convention Votes on Secession
Texans who favored secession called a
convention
Texas Secession Convention met in
Austin on January 28, 1861
Texas became the 7th state to leave the
Union
Houston Removed and War Begins
The Secession Convention ordered
all state officials to take an oath of
allegiance to the Confederacy
Houston refused and the convention
declared the office of governor vacant
The Great Divide – North vs. South