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Causes of Civil War
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Wilmont Proviso
Picture of South letters. To prevent the amount of free and slave states becoming unblanced, David Wilmont proposed a bill, the Wilmont Proviso, to outlaw slavery in any territory the United states might acquire from the War with Mexico. The South thought Congress had no right to prevent them from bringing slaves to new territories. It never became a law, but it had important effects. It led to the creation of the Free-Soil Party, a political party dedicated to stopping the expansion of slavery. -
Compromise of 1850
PIcuture of Henry Clay. Senator Henry Clay crafted a plan to settle the problem of California gaining statehood. This is what the comprimose did. To please the North, California would be admitted as a free state, and the slave trade would be abolished in Washington, D.C. To please the South, Congress would not pass laws regarding slavery for the rest of the territories won from Mexico, and Congress would pass a stronger law to help slaveholders. Stephen A. Douglas succeeded and it became a law. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Picture of a warning to slave catchers to keep an eye out. Under the Fugitive Slave Act, accused fugitives could be held without and arrest warrent. Southerners backed the Fugitive Slave Act because they considered slaves to be property. But, it enraged Northerners because it required them to help recapture runaway slaves. It also placed penalties on people would not cooperate with the law. Southern slave catches could roam the North, and sometimes they captured free African Americans. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
The picture is the cover of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Uncle Tom's Cabin is a book published by the abolitionist writer Harriet Beecher Stowe. She was outraged by the Fugitive Slave Act, and her anger inspired her to write this book. The book presented the cruelty and immorality of slavery. It was popular in the North. Southerners argued that the book presented false information of the South and slavery. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Picture of proposal. Senator Douglas drafted a bill to organize the Nebraska Territory. This was known as the Kansas-Nebraska Act. It proposed to divide the territory into two parts, Nebraska and Kansas. To get Southerners to support the bill Douglas suggested popular sovereignty. The South liked the bill. The bill angered opponents of slavery. -
Formation of Republican Party
Picture of the Republican Party symbol. Northern members of the Whig Party joined with other rivals and formed the Republican Party. The Republican Party was the result of Southern and Northern Whigs opposing the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Republican Party was both an antislavery parfty and a secional party that sought to protect the interests of the North. They quickly gained strength in the North. The party was antislavery so it was unpopular in the South. -
Bleeding Kansas
Picture of a proslavery group attacking. Proslavery and antislavery settlers moved to the Kansas Territory to vote illegally. There were more proslavery settlers. Antislavery settlers rejected the elected government, and settlers on both sides armed themsleves. A proslavery mob looted the town of Lawrence, Kansas. John Brown, in response, led seven other men in a massacre of five proslavery neighbors. Civil war broke out and lasted for three years. -
Caning of Charles Sumner
Picture of Charles Sumner. Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts spoke against the proslavery forces in Kansas. Preston Brooks heard about Sumner's speech. As a result, he attacked sumner. Brooks beat Sumner unconscious with his cain, causing server injuries and disabled him for years. Brooks was cheered in the South. But Northerners were shocked at the violence in the Senate. -
Dred Scott Case
Picture of Dred Scott. Dred Scott was an enslaved person in Missouri. He lived in free territories before being taken back to Missouri. After his owner's death Dred Scott argued that he was a free man because he lived in territories where slavery was illeage. His wife and two daughters sued in court for their freedom. The court ruled against Dred Scott. Cheif Justice Roger B. Taney stated that Dred Scott was not a U.S. citizen, so he couldn't sue in U.S. courts. -
Attack on Harper’s Ferry
Picture of John Brown. John Brown and 18 followers captured the Hapers Ferry arenal. He then sent word to rally and arm local slaves. But no slaves joined the fight. U.S. marines attacked Brown at Harpers Ferry. Some of his men escaped, but Brown and six others were captures, and ten were killed. John Brown was convicted and sentenced to be hang. Abolitionists run bells and fired guns in his honor. Sotherners were enraged by Brown, and the North's response to his actions. -
Election of 1860
Picture of Abraham Lincoln. Southerners wanted to defend slavery in the parties platform. But Northerners wanted the platform to support popular sovereignty. The Northerners won the platform vote. Sothern Democrats nominated John Breckinridge. Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery, while Breckinridge defended slavery. Lincoln won the election. Southerners did not trust Lincoln, they thought he would be a threat to their way of life. -
Secession
Picture of Confederate National Flag. Even before the election, Southerners had warned that if Lincoln won presidency, Southern states would sucede, or withdraw, from the Union. Southerners based their arguments on states' rights, which is the idea that states have certain rights that the federal government cannot overrule. South Carilina suceded first, and other states soon followed. They formed the Confederate States of America. Northerners considered this unconstitutional.
