Events that Led to the Civil War

Remember these 4 things…  State Rights  Slavery and Westward Expansion  Economics and Trade Policies  Sectionalism

States’ Rights  States’ Rights: the belief that the state’s interests should take precedence over the interests of the national government.  Northern states believed that in order for the United States to function as one Union, political decisions should be made that would benefit the entire country. All states should abide by laws made by Congress, signed by the President.  Southern states believed deeply in the idea that states should have the right to govern themselves, to decide what was best for their own needs and situations. They felt that states like Maine could not understand or care about South Carolina or Georgia.

Nullification  One example of the differing ideas about state rights was the idea of nullification. The south felt that the states should still have the right to decide if they were willing to accept certain federal acts. This resulted in the idea of nullification, whereby the states would have the right to rule federal acts unconstitutional. The federal government denied states this right. However, proponents such as John C. Calhoun (Vice President at the time) fought vehemently for nullification. He was known as the “Great Nullifier”. When nullification would not work and states felt that they were no longer respected, they moved towards secession.

Who would you side with on this issue?

Slavery & Westward Expansion  Northern state economy was based on factories, mining, banks, stores and railroads. No plantation agriculture, thus no need for slavery and anti-slavery arguments were very powerful in these states.  Southern state economy was based on agriculture (cotton, tobacco and rice). Big plantation owners depended on slavery for everything. Less than 10% of Georgians actually had slaves but the economic power that they provided kept the economy going for everyone.

Free & Slave States

Westward Expansion of Slavery  In America, there was broad support for settlement of the frontier territories.  Each of the new states would have two senators and at least one representative in the U.S. Congress.  For Georgia and other southern states to maintain balance of power in the national government, at least half of the new states would have to allow slavery.  At first, Congress kept a balance of equal free and slave states. But then….

The Problem…  After Alabama had been admitted to the union there were 11 slave states and 11 free states.  Then Missouri applied for admission as a slave state and the Northern states were not happy with the 12 to 11 count.  Now the solution…

Missouri Compromise  1820 – Congress made Maine a free state and created a law that in the future, slavery would be prohibited north of latitude (Carolina’s northern border).  It would not take the south long to figure out that they had been suckered. There’s more land north of latitude 36.30!!! This might mean more free state and less votes in Congress!

 tives/sectionalism/lesson1/ tives/sectionalism/lesson1/

The Next Problem  After a war with Mexico, the United States got what is today Texas and California. Because Texas was below the “line” it was admitted as a slave state.  A few years later gold was discovered in California and a gold rush occurred bringing the “Forty-niners” into the area (gold rush of 1849…). California now applies for admission into the Union as a state.  Should California be a free state or a slave state? Some Georgians talked of a secession from the Union if California was made a free state.

Compromise of 1850  Benefits Northern States 1. California would be “free state” 2. Slave trade ends in D.C. 3. Texas can’t have Mexico – thus less land for legal slavery

Compromise of 1850  Benefits Southern States 1. New Mexico and Utah get to vote on slavery (popular sovereignty) 2. Residents in D.C. can keep slaves they have already 3. Fugitive Slave Act – slaves must be returned to owner, even if they have made it to a free state

Georgia Platform  Georgia’s official response to the Compromise of (according to the General Assembly)  The platform said that they would accept the conditions of the Compromise of 1850, so long as the northern states respected the current slave laws, and the national government did not make any further attempts to restrict slavery in the western territories. The Georgia Platform was written primarily by Charles J. Jenkins, with help from and the support of Howell Cobb and Robert Toombs.Howell CobbRobert Toombs

Kansas-Nebraska Act  Created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska.  It contained a clause of “popular sovereignty” – which means “government that’s popular” or “popular government” that the people of a territory could vote on whether they wanted slaves.

Compromise of 1850 & Kansas-Nebraska Act - Bad decision  4 years after the compromise Nebraska and Kansas were created. Voters of each territory would decide whether slavery would be permitted. Both slave owners and abolitionists rushed to control the territory. In Kansas the raids on each others settlements were so brutal that it became known as “Bleeding Kansas”.  Also, northerners were dead set against the Fugitive Law. They would not allow the slaves seeking refuge to be returned to their brutal owners. The abolitionist movement was growing immensely in the north.

The Dred Scott Case  Read p. 223 and define this in your words. Do you think this was fair?

Slavery in Georgia  As cotton production grew, so did the need for slaves. Cotton and slavery were so interrelated that a Scottish visitor to Georgia in 1844 reported, “Nothing was attended to but the cotton and slaves. The more cotton the more slaves and the more slaves the more cotton.  As more and more land was given over to King Cotton the price of slavery went up $300 for a good slave, $1,000, $1800.

Anti-Slavery in Georgia  Though the General Assembly appeared to justify slavery, it was outlawed in the Georgia Constitution of 1798 and many Georgians hoped to find a practical way to reduce slavery.  By the 1820’s no newspaper editor in Georgia would dare argue for slavery.  Many slave owners made provisions in their wills to free their slaves. Some simply let their slaves work for them as free blacks and some accompanied their slaves to free states since free blacks were not permitted to enter Georgia.  Remember – only 7% of the people Georgia owned slaves  Many of these people were members of the General Assembly and Congress

Economics & Trade Policies  Economics: Agriculture versus Industry Northern state economy was based on factories, mining, banks, stores and railroads. No plantation agriculture, thus no need for slavery and anti-slavery arguments were very powerful in these states. Southern state economy was based on agriculture (cotton, tobacco and rice). Big plantation owners depended on slavery for everything. Less than 10% of Georgians actually had slaves but the economic power that they provided kept the economy going for everyone.

Cont…Economics & Trade Policies  Trade Policies: Northern states wanted to put tariffs on imported goods to make customers want to but from their factories instead of from other countries, like Great Britain. (ex: suit, $50, import tax of $20) Southern states did not have factories and imported a lot of goods from other countries. Southerners did not was the prices they paid on imported goods made higher buy tariffs.

Sectionalism  The belief by the people in a given area that their ideas and interests are better and more important than those of another region or area.

Northern Sectionalism  What issues were the northern states facing that created stand on the following: 1. States’ Rights: 2. Slavery: 3. Trade Policies/Tariffs:

Southern Sectionalism  What issues were the southern states facing that created stand on the following: 1. States’ Rights: 2. Slavery: 3. Trade Policies/Tariffs:

Can a Books Cause a War?  Uncle Tom’s Cabin: by Harriet Beecher Stowe – described the horrors of being a slave and described them as individuals – instead of a group. This made them more human and their pain very real to the people who read the book. The book was a huge success and created a huge abolition movement in the North  Positive Good Thesis of Slavery: by Charles Fitzhugh – characterized slavery as an obligation of white to feed, clothe, and provide church for slaves. The result was that many southerners actually believed that enslavement was a favor

The Election of 1860

Read p. 245 – 246 in the Blue Book  Summarize what you read on your study guide.

Alexander Stephens  Read p  ent/alexander-stephens ent/alexander-stephens  ent/alexander-stephens-0 ent/alexander-stephens-0  /georgia-secedes-union /georgia-secedes-union