The Real Cause of the Civil War AP US History Project 2001-2002

What was the Real Cause of the Civil War? Some people argue over the cause of the Civil War. As a whole, most people think it was fought over the issue of slavery alone. There were many issues that led up to the war, however. This presentation will attempt to address each of those issues and draw a conclusion as to what the major reason was.

Compact Theory and the Emergence of States’ Rights The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions written by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson introduced the idea of states’ rights. It stated that states could nullify law passed by Congress that the states thought was unconstitutional based on the Compact Theory.

Sectionalism Some people view sectionalism as a major issue. Sectionalism is the rivalry between the North and South over several issues: slavery tariffs states’ rights transportation

Westward Expansion & the Growth of Sectionalism The history of the United States is a history of movement from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Early attempts at Westward Expansion Articles of Confederation which included the: Land Ordinance of 1785 which was early expansion into the Old Northwest & Northwest Ordinance which prohibited slavery

COMPROMISES Because of the expansion into westward territory, compromises had to be reached regarding slavery. Missouri Compromise Compromise of 1850 Kansas-Nebraska Act Dred Scott Decision Click on the words above to review the provisions of each compromise.

Missouri Compromise Missouri admitted as a slave state Maine admitted as a free state Line drawn at 36 degrees 30 minutes North latitude Everything north of the line would be free Everything south of the line could be slave

Compromise of 1850 California admitted as a free state The rest of the Mexican Cession to be formed into New Mexico & Utah territories Texas to give disputed territory to New Mexico No slave trade in Washington, DC Stronger fugitive slave law Government to pay debts of Texas

Kansas-Nebraska Act Popular sovereignty led to a civil war in Kansas the people decide if the area will be a free state or a slave state by voting led to a civil war in Kansas Kansas became known as Bleeding Kansas Kansas admitted as a free state

Dred Scott Decision Supreme Court ruled that Scott and his family were not free Slaves were property Federal government could not take a citizen’s property from them Made all other compromises null and void

Economic Issues Each section of the country had its own economic interests.

In the North, the economic issues centered around the growth of industry and trade.

In the South, the economy was based on agriculture.

Early arguments centered on tariffs Early arguments centered on tariffs. The North wanted high tariffs and the South wanted low tariffs. High tariffs helped the industry in the North because they made American made goods cheaper than European goods. Result -The northern economy would be stimulated.

High tariffs helped the North High tariffs helped the North. By adding tariffs onto certain products, consumers would buy American made products.

High tariffs hurt the South because much of their trade was with Europe. If they did not buy from European merchants then those merchants would not buy cotton and other agricultural products from the South.

Southerners feared the election of Lincoln and the growth of the Republican Party. They thought Lincoln wanted to free the slaves. In reality, he just wanted to stop the spread of slavery into new territories.

So, what was the real cause of the war? There is no one answer. Each issue from the beginning of our nation to the outbreak of the war contributed to the cause. The compromises only delayed the onset. The war was inevitable.

Internet resources Below is a link to a time line of sectionalism and secession: http://library.thinkquest.org/12587/contents/timeline/1850/time1850.html Below is a link to many different internet locations dealing with westward expansion: http://www.snowcrest.net/jmike/westexp.html The link below is a good source of information on the causes of the civil war http://library.thinkquest.org/25909/html/content/civilwar_causes.html

Works Cited: http://www.pdmusic.org/civilwar.html