Chapter 16 Toward Civil War (1840-1861)

Lesson 3 Secession and War

Lesson 3-Polling Question

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

Rate your agreement with the following statement: States should be allowed to leave the Union if they disagree with the policies of the federal government.

A. Strongly agree

B. Somewhat agree

C. Somewhat disagree

D. Strongly disagree

Essential Question

What role did the theory of states’ rights play in the outbreak of the Civil War?

Election of 1860

• The issue of slavery split the Democratic Party
• Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas
• Southern Democrats (vowed to uphold slavery) nominated John C. Breckinridge
• Moderates formed the Constitutional Union Party and nominated John Bell
• The Constitutional Union Party took no position on slavery
• The Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln

Election of 1860 Continued

• The Republicans’ platform was that slavery should be left undisturbed where it existed, but…
• Slavery should be excluded from the territories
• Many Southerners feared a Republican victory would encourage slave revolts
• The Democrats were divided and Lincoln won a clear majority of electoral votes
• The vote went along sectional lines
• Lincoln’s name did not even appear on the ballot of many Southern states
• Lincoln won every Northern state

Lesson 3

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

Which was included in the platform of the Republican Party in the election of 1860?

A. The question of slavery should � be decided by popular sovereignty.

B. In a free society, the minority had � the right to break up the government.

C. Slavery should be left where it � existed but be excluded from � the territories.

D. The Missouri Compromise should be reinstated.

Attempt at Compromise

• The Republicans promised not to disturb slavery where it existed
• Many Southerners did not trust the Republican Party to protect their rights
• December 20, 1860- South Carolina seceded
• Other states debated secession
• US leaders worked for a compromise

Attempt at Compromise Continued

• Kentucky Senator John Crittenden proposed Constitutional Amendments to protect slavery in territories below 36°30' north
• Republicans rejected the provision
• They just won on the principle that slavery would not extend in any territories
• Lincoln wrote “the government shall be broken up unless we surrender to those we have beaten”
• Leaders in the South responded “We spit upon every plan to compromise”
• One Southern leader said “No human power can save the Union”

An anti-Republican cartoon from early 1861 shows supporters of the Crittenden Compromise forcing the "constitutional" remedy down the throat of the uncooperative Republican who is still clutching the Republican Platform with its pledge of "no compromise."

The Confederacy

• By February 1861- Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia (+South Carolina) had seceded
• February 4^th- delegates from these states met to form a new nation
• The Confederate States of America with Jefferson Davis as their president
• Southerners justified secession with the theory of states’ rights
• They argued that the states voluntarily entered the Union

The Confederacy Continued

• They defined the Constitution as a contract among the independent states
• They believed the national government violated that contract by refusing to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act
• Also by denying Southern states equal rights in the territories
• Because of these reasons, the states had a right to leave the Union

Reaction to Secession

• Many Southerners welcomed secession
• They rang church bells and celebrated in the streets
• Other Southerners voiced concern about the future
• Robert E. Lee- “I only see that a fearful calamity is upon us”
• In the North, some abolitionists preferred to allow the Southern states to leave
• Many Northerners believed the Union must be preserved
• For Lincoln the issue was “whether in a free government the minority have the right to break up the government whenever they choose”

Lincoln Takes Office

• Lincoln would not take office until March 4, 1861
• Buchanan was president and said that the Southern states had no right to secede from the Union, but…
• He had no power to stop them from doing so
• When Lincoln took office, people wondered what he would say and do
• What would happen in the slave states of Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas
• If the US used force against the Confederate States, the remaining slave states might secede

Lincoln Takes Office Continued

• In his Inaugural Address, Lincoln spoke to the seceding states directly
• Lincoln mixed toughness with words of peace
• Lincoln said secession would not be permitted
• “The Union of these States is perpetual (forever)”
• Lincoln vowed to hold federal property in the South
• Including forts and military installations
• Also was going to enforce the law of the US

Fort Sumter

• Confederate forces started taking U.S. forts within their states
• Lincoln didn’t want to start a war, but allowing the Confederates to keep them would amount to admitting their right to secede
• The day he took office he received a message from the commander of Fort Sumter
• Fort Sumter was a fort on an island guarding Charleston Harbor
• The message warned that the fort was low on supplies and the Confederates demanded its surrender

Lincoln’s Response to Fort Sumter

• Lincoln responded with a message to Governor Francis Pickens of South Carolina
• Lincoln said he was sending an unarmed group with supplies to Fort Sumter
• Lincoln promised that the US forces would not “throw in men, arms, or ammunition” unless they were fired upon
• Lincoln left the decision to start shooting up to the Confederates
• Jefferson Davis ordered his forces to attack Fort Sumter before the supplies arrived

Lesson 3

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

Why did Lincoln decide not to send armed troops to Fort Sumter?

A. He wanted to leave the � decision to start fighting � up to the Confederates.

B. The fort was already well � stocked with ammunition.

C. He feared loss of life of � Union troops.

D. He wanted to surrender Fort Sumter to the� Confederates.

Fort Sumter Under Fire

• Confederate guns opened fire on April 12^th, 1861
• High seas kept Union relief ships from reaching the fort
• Fort Sumter surrendered on April 14^th
• 1000s of shots were fired, but there were no loss of life
• President Lincoln issued a call for troops, and volunteers quickly signed up
• Meanwhile, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas voted to join the Confederacy
• The Civil War had begun

Essential Question

What role did the theory of states’ rights play in the outbreak of the Civil War?

- The theory held that the Constitution was a contract among independent states, which the states agreed to voluntarily.

- When the federal government violated the rights of the states, as Southerners believed it had, the contract was void.

-Southerners used this theory to justify secession

What role did the theory of states’ rights play in the outbreak of the Civil War?

​

- The theory held that the Constitution was a contract among independent states, which the states agreed to voluntarily.

- When the federal government violated the rights of the states, as Southerners believed it had, the contract was void.

-Southerners used this theory to justify secession

Chapter 16 Lesson 3 Quiz

Who was not a presidential candidate in 1860?

1. John C. Calhoun
2. John Bell
3. Abraham Lincoln
4. John Breckinridge

Southerners justified secession with the theory of

1. constitutional rights.
2. federal rights.
3. the Union's errors.
4. states' rights.

The 1860 presidential candidate whose name did not appear on the ballot in most Southern states was

1. Abraham Lincoln.
2. John Breckinridge.
3. John Bell.
4. Stephen A. Douglas.

Who was the senator from Kentucky who tried to save the Union by proposing a last-minute compromise?

1. John Calhoun
2. John Bell
3. Henry Clay
4. John Crittenden

Based on the graph, who lost the 1860 presidential election?

1. Bell
2. Breckinridge
3. Douglas
4. all of the above

The first state to vote to secede was

1. South Carolina.
2. Maryland.
3. Missouri.
4. Georgia.

The US president when the Civil War started (Fort Sumter) was

1. Stephen Douglas.
2. Robert E. Lee.
3. Jefferson Davis.
4. Abraham Lincoln.

Southerners justified secession with the theory of

1. popular sovereignty.
2. states' rights.
3. federalism.
4. constitutionalism.

What event marked the beginning of the Civil War?

1. Lincoln–Douglas debates
2. Lincoln inauguration
3. South Carolina seceding
4. Fort Sumter attack

The Confederate president was

1. William Seward.
2. Abner Doubleday.
3. Jefferson Davis.
4. Francis Pickens.

Participant Scores

Team Scores