The issues that tore our nation apart

Causes of the Civil War

Cause #1Cause #1

Sectionalism

North = Union

South = Confederacy

Sectionalism

• Sectionalism – the excessive devotion to local interests and customs to a region of a nation.

• The intense feelings of sectionalism further divided the country into two separate sections- North and South.

NorthNorth

SouthSouth

• Cause #1 Cause #1 Sectionalism

• Prior to the Civil War, the United States was not really united.

• Our country was more like two separate countries sharing the same land.

NorthNorth

SouthSouth

• Cause #1 Cause #1 Sectionalism

• The North had industry, large cities, a diverse population, and favored the politics of the Republican party which supported the abolition of slavery.

• Cause #1 Cause #1 Sectionalism

• Southerners were especially loyal to their section. They thought of themselves...– as citizens of their own

state first,– as Southerners

second,– and as U.S. citizens

third.

• Cause #2 Slavery• Slavery was a cause

of the Civil War for two reasons.– #1. The South viewed

slavery as a necessity to maintaining economic wealth.

– Texas believed that slavery was vital to the economy.

– However, many people in the North viewed slavery as evil and unconstitutional.

• Cause #2 Slavery • #2. Slavery was not just a moral issue but a political issue as well.– Which ever section of

the U.S, North or South, had more states would have more power in Congress.

• Cause #2 Slavery• Both Northerners and

Southerners fought fiercely over the moral and political issue of slavery.

• If the U.S. had been founded without slavery, then the following causes of the Civil War may have never been issues.

• Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 • Required all citizens to

help catch runaway slaves.

• It was now a CRIME to help runaway slaves even in the North. This made many people in the North very angry.

More Problems

• Fugitive Slave Law of 1850– Differences in the North

and South

• South:– Judges could get $10

for each runaway slave

– Slaves were denied a trial by jury & the right to testify

– Forced citizens to catch runaways, if not, $1,000 fine

• Fugitive Slave Law of 1850

• Differences in the North and South

• North:• Helped slaves get

lawyers• People would pitch in to

buy slaves their freedom.

• Northern juries wouldn’t convict those of breaking the Fugitive Slave Law.

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin – written by Harriet Beecher Stowe.– Laid out the cruelties of

slavery for the first time.

More Problems• Dred Scott Case, ,

1857:1857:– Scott was taken to the Scott was taken to the north

by his owner to live for by his owner to live for about 5 years. Then he was about 5 years. Then he was taken back to taken back to Missouri..

– When the When the owner died, Scott died, Scott sued for his freedom in the for his freedom in the Supreme Court. Supreme Court.

– Chief Justice Roger Taney Roger Taney ruled the following:ruled the following:

1.1. Slaves are not Slaves are not citizens, so , so they can’t they can’t sue..

2.2. Slaves are Slaves are property & can be & can be taken anywhere.taken anywhere.

3.3. Because the 5Because the 5thth Amendment Amendment protected protected property, Congress Congress could not could not ban slavery from slavery from any territory.any territory.

4.4. The Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was was unconstitutional.

• Cause #3 States’ Rights • States’ rights is the idea that each state had the right to determine whether or not to follow 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

• Cause #3 States’ Rights • Texas believed that the states should be able to make their own political, economic, and social decision with minimal federal government interference.

United States Law

• Cause #3 States’ Rights • Northerners did not support states’ rights. They believed the national government had final power.

United States Law

• Cause #4 Tariffs • A tariff is a tax on imported goods.

• Northerners felt the federal government had the power to make laws that applied to all states, including imposing taxes.

• Cause #4 Tariffs • Southerners were also angry at Congress using its power to impose taxes on the South’s agricultural products.

• They felt that any federal tax restricted the rights of the individual states.

• Texans were for low tariffs to continue to trade cotton with European nations and southern sates produced 80% of the world’s supply of cotton.

• Cause #5 Election of 1860

• 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.

• Cause #5 Secession• After Lincoln’s election, After Lincoln’s election,

eleven southern states southern states eventually eventually seceded from the Union and from the Union and formed the formed the Confederate States of America..

• Texas’s Texas’s lawmakers voted to secede by a voted to secede by a vote of 166 to 8, and vote of 166 to 8, and the people of Texas the people of Texas voted for voted for secession by by a margin of more than a margin of more than 3 to 1.3 to 1.

Let’s review the main causes of the Civil War:

3. States’ rights3. States’ rights

5.5. Election of 1860 Election of 1860 & Secession& Secession

United States Law

2. Slavery2. Slavery

SouthSouth

NorthNorth1.Sectionalism1.Sectionalism

4. Tariffs4. Tariffs