Causes of the Civil War

The Civil War was initially caused by multiple factors that strengthened the divide between people and their opinions on slavery, governing, and politics. One event after another, created a domino effect that resulted in a bloody Civil War. Instead of addressing and solving issues that arose, they were temporarily pushed back or ignored. This was the main cause of the Civil War. 

Here is a fun little  music video that summarizes the causes of the Civil War, including the ones below and more. 

Federal Government’s Authority vs. States’ Rights

America was split over how the country and it's people should be ruled. Some Americans were in favor of a strong federal government, others favored States to have more power. Situations that had conflicts with these two opposing ideas were the Nullification Crisis of South Carolina, where state's rights were favored, and John Marshall's ruling in several court cases, where he supported the strength of the federal government. These conflicts fueled the fire of unrest in our nation, dividing us and setting the stage for the Civil War.

Economic Changes

America went through many leading up to the Civil War. Majority of economic changes were influenced by new inventions. Railroads, canals, and the telegraph caused transportation and communication to improve greatly. New machinery such as the cotton gin, or the spinning jenny, helped farming and creation of textile. Some parts of America were able to better improve with the aid of such inventions, but others not so much. The South had little use for the spinning jenny, but the cotton gin was very helpful in this plantation region. Likewise, the opposite was true for the North. Although this was not a huge difference, it was a difference nonetheless and divided America silently in half. 

Compromise of 1850

Zachary Taylor, 12th president of America and war hero of the Mexican American war, refused to address the matter of California's statehood. The state wanted to enter the union as a free state, but this would unbalance the scale of slave and free states. As Taylor dies and Millard Fillmore succeeds him, the acceptance of this state gets put into motion. Favoring the statehood of California as a free state, Fillmore supported Henry Clay's compromise. This compromise was required to address five different problems.1. California will be admitted to the Union as a free state 2. The Fugitive Slave Law will be stronger and stricter. 3. New Mexico and Utah Territories' position as a slave or free state is to be determined by popular sovereignty. 4. Compensation in Texas for the New Mexico border dispute. 5. Slave trade will be banned in the capital, Washington D.C. This compromise hushed troubled Americans, but it only delayed the Civil War. The issue of slavery expansion will resurface and cause this nation to go to war with itself.

Kansas-Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, passed by Stephan Douglas, brought sectional conflict to life.This act was may have been single-handedly fueled the start of the civil war because of all the conflict caused by it. Americans wanted to move to Kansas and Nebraska to settle down, and many entrepreneurs were also interested in acquiring this land. The only obstacle that stood in the way of these eager Americans was that it was illegal to settle on these lands, for they were unorganized and any claims to this territory would be invalid. The south was in no rush to get Kansas and Nebraska officially permitted, because it lay just north of the 36 30 parallel, where slavery was deemed as illegal according to the Missouri Compromise. In order to determine the status of these territories as free or a slave state, Douglas proposed to allow popular sovereignty to determine the outcome of this situation. This act, and Douglas's proposal, was viewed as an abomination since it allowed possible existence of slavery in a place where it had been prohibited, because of the Missouri Compromise.  This situation opened up old wounds; the south and north were both concerned about equality of slave states versus free states, and both sides were quite agitated by this situation, and a small Civil War (Which just may have been a stepping stone for full fledged war) over slavery expansion broke out, causing much bloodshed.

Dred Scott Decision

Dred Scott was a slave who traveled with his master Peter Blow to the North and resided in free states Illinois and Wisconsin for a number of years after his master passed away while living in the north. Scott went to court to sue for his freedom. With much confusion and conflict of fact and law, a biased supreme court in 1857 ruled that since Scott was a black man, not a citizen, he had no right to sue. On top of this, the Missouri Compromise was ruled as unconstitutional because it restricted slaver, which was unconstitutional. This turn of events infuriated many Americans, Pro-slavery people and Abolitionists alike. People in favor of slavery were suddenly outraged that slavery was being restricted. People who wanted slavery to end, were angered that this court ruling endorsed slavery. But, Scott and his wife did get their happily ever after after all. Abolitionists could feel a bit of happiness from hearing that Peter Blow's sons purchased Scott and his wife from their current owners, and afterwards freed them after this entire ordeal.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Abraham Lincoln and Stephan A. Douglas captured the attention of America with their heated debates about a very sensitive topic: slavery. The two were fighting for one of the two of Illinois' U.S. Senate seat. Lincoln attempted to separate himself from his opponent by showing Douglas's lack of support for ending slavery. Douglass retaliated by pointing out how Lincoln supported white supremacy, but was promoting equality and an end to slavery. In the end, Douglass came out at the top, but Lincoln had left a lasting impression on Americans. His famous quote "A house divided cannot stand" would later be seen in context of the Civil War.

John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry

This wanted poster is a primary source has details of the charges John Brown was wanted for. 

Abolitionist John Brown on October of 1859 lead eighteen of his men to seize federal arsenal and armory from the Harper's Ferry. Brow's goal was to encourage neighboring slaves to rise up and join him in guerrilla war that would extend to lower south plantation regions. But plans did not go accordingly and Brown and his men were forced to take refuge in a fire-engine house as they were driven away by the local militia. When the group was caught, they were accused of treason. John Brown was sentenced to death, but his death only caused Northerners to become more agitated by the pressing issue of slavery, and how to end it.  

Election of 1860

Of the two Republican candidates, William H. Seward and Abraham Lincoln, Abraham was selected as the nominee for presidential candidate. Seward had a reputation of being a radical, but had a strong opposition to the nativist movement. Opting for a less controversial candidate, the republicans selected Lincoln. The Democrats had more difficulty choosing their candidates, so they split into three different groups. Supporters of Stephen Douglass were the Douglass Democrats, The Constitutional Unionists represented the spirit of sectional accommodation, and the "Southern Rights" Democrats who were a mixed group of Whigs and Know-Nothings. Lincoln won the election with little competition. Soon, the South exploded for they were always used to having influence high up in the government. This was the first time they were not seated in the president's spot. Viewing this catastrophe as a sign that all power would be taken, the south began to separate from the Union, and the Civil War was soon to follow.



Sources:
Divine, Robert A., T. H. Breen, George M. Fredrickson, R. Hal Williams, Ariela Julie. Gross, and H. W. Brands. America past and Present. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Compromise1850.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/millardfillmore
http://www.ushistory.org/us/31a.asp
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2932.html
http://www.nps.gov/liho/historyculture/debates.htm