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Causes of the Civil War
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Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest ordinance prohibited slavery in the northwest territory of the United States. This would start the labeling of states as slave or free. -
Eli Whitney & the Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney invented the Cotton Gin which improved cotton production. This created a rise of slavery and more disagreements between the north and south -
Missouri Compromise
Along with the addition of the states, Maine and Missouri the Missouri Compromise created the 36’ 30 line. Below this line slavery was allowed, above this line slavery was prohibited. This created a divide between the north and the south. -
Jackson & Nullification
Nullification is the right of the states to refuse to enforce laws that the state feels to be unconstitutional. This created a problem for President Jackson when South Carolina used this right. South Carolina like many other southern states felt that tariffs were aimed to hurt the south and the exportation of cotton. This causes even more of a divide between the north and the south. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska act raises the slavery line created by the Missouri Compromise to the boarder between Kansas and Nebraska. This favors the slave states and leads to Bleeding Kansas. -
Summer & Brooks
South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks nearly beats Massachusetts Representative Charles Summer to death during a debate about slavery. This shows how the violence surrounding the debate over slavery has spread into the government. -
Election of Abraham Lincoln
The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 was the breaking point for the south. To the south Abraham Lincoln represented northern ideals and politics. The day after he was elected is when the first state would succeed from the union
