The Coming of the Civil War Chapter 14 Section 4

Why It Matters John Brown’s raid increased tensions between North and South. So did the growing power of the Republican Party. The nation was on the verge of a civil war.

Election of 1860 The Republicans chose Abraham Lincoln as their presidential candidate. His criticisms of slavery during his debates with Douglas had made him popular in the North. Some southerners still hoped to heal the split between North and South. They formed the Constitutional Union Party and nominated John Bell of Tennessee. He promised to protect slavery and keep the nation together.

Election of 1860 The Democratic Party was split between southerners who were support of slavery and northerners who were not. The election showed just how fragmented the nation had become. Lincoln won in every free state, and all but four slave-holding states. Although Lincoln only got 40% of the popular vote, he received enough electoral votes to win the election.

Southern States Secede Lincoln’s election win sent shock waves through the South. They believed they no longer had a voice in national government, and that the President and Congress were set against their interests-especially slavery. One Virginia paper wrote, “A party founded on the single sentiment….of hatred of African slavery, is now the controlling power. The honor, safety, and independence of Southern people are to be found only in Southern Confederacy.”

Southern States Secede South Carolina was the first southern state to secede from the Union. When Lincoln won the election, the legislature called for a special convention. On December 20, 1860 the convention passed a declaration that “the union now subsiding between South Carolina and the other states, under the name of the ‘United States of America’ is hereby dissolved.”

The Confederate States of America Six more states followed South Carolina and seceded from the Union. However, not all southerners favored secession Tennessee Senator Andrew Johnson and Texas Governor Sam Houston opposed succession, yet the demand for separation was overwhelming throughout the South. By the time Lincoln took office in March, leaders from the seceding states had written a constitution and called themselves the Confederate States of America, and former Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis would be the president.

Civil War Begins In Lincoln’s inaugural address, he assured the seceded states that he meant them no harm. He said he would not interfere with the “institution of slavery where it exists.” Lincoln’s assurances of friendship was rejected. The seceding states took over post offices, forts, and other federal property within their borders.

Fort Sumter Lincoln’s most urgent problem was Fort Sumter. It was located in South Carolina. It was a Union stronghold, and its commander refused to surrender. South Carolina authorities decided to starve out the fort’s 100 troops to try to force them to surrender. They had been cut off from all supplies. Lincoln did not want to give up the fort, yet he also felt sending troops down there may cause more states to secede. He decided to send food to the fort, but no weapons or additional troops.

Fort Sumter While Fort Sumter was at its weakest, Confederate forces opened fire on the fort. After 34 hours, with the fort on fire, the U.S. troops surrendered.

Was War Avoidable? The Confederate attack on Fort Sumter marked the beginning of the Civil War. A civil war is a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country. In 1850, southerners might have been satisfied if they had been left alone. By 1861, many Americans in both the North and South had come to accept the idea that war could not be avoided. Even today, Americans still debate if the Civil War was avoidable.