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Causes of the Civil War

The issues that tore our nation apart

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Cause #1

Sectionalism

North = Union

South = Confederacy

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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.

North

South

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  • 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.

North

South

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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

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  • 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

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  • 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.

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More Problems

  • Dred Scott Case, 1857:

    • Scott was taken to the north by his owner to live for about 5 years. Then he was taken back to Missouri.
    • When the owner died, Scott sued for his freedom in the Supreme Court.
    • Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled the following:
      • Slaves are not citizens, so they can’t sue.
      • Slaves are property & can be taken anywhere.
      • Because the 5th Amendment protected property, Congress could not ban slavery from any territory.
      • The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.

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  • 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

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  • 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

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  • Cause #3 States’ Rights

  • Northerners did not support states’ rights. They believed the national government had final power.

United States Law

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • Cause #5 Secession

  • After Lincoln’s election, eleven southern states eventually seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America.
  • Texas’s lawmakers voted to secede by a vote of 166 to 8, and the people of Texas voted for secession by a margin of more than 3 to 1.

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

3. States’ rights

  • Election of 1860 & Secession

United States Law

2. Slavery

South

North

1.Sectionalism

4. Tariffs