The Cause of the Civil

WarBy: My’Asia Jaaber

States Rights

As Southern states continued making more money for the Union they felt as if they were in control. Many Southern states wanted states to have more power than the federal government. Southerners felt as if the federal government treated them unfairly by passing new laws. People in the North felt that “state rights” would make the Union weaker. Jefferson Davis created the Doctrine of State rights. The Doctrine of State rights was to lower the tensions between the states.

States Rights

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe created Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a book that showed what really went on, on plantations. The novel was published in 1852. Many Northerners were angered by the treatment of the slaves on the plantation. While people in the South were upset because the book only showed slaveholders in a negative way.

“The Liberator”

William Lloyd Garrison created an anti-slavery newspaper called The Liberator. The Liberator was created in 1831. Mr. Garrison was known for being one of the most radical of abolitionist. The Liberator influenced many people and made them side against slavery.

Secession

South Carolina was the first state to withdraw from the Union. Many states in the Southern part of the Union was unhappy with the way things were and wanted to start their own country. They soon named their own country The Confederate States of America. Southern states were unhappy with the decisions made with slavery, states rights and Abraham Lincoln. Many states in the South wanted to make their own laws while the North wanted a strong national government that would allow all the states to have equal laws. The South feared that the North would vote to make slavery illegal in Southern states because it was illegal in the North. Many Southerners didn’t want Abraham Lincoln as president because it wanted a stronger national government and also wanted to end slavery.

The Secession of the South

Sectionalism

Over the years sectionalism began to grow. As the nation began to grow and people began to settle in areas many felt some places were better than others. Sectionalism is one region putting their needs before another region. The growing differences between the North and South caused sectionalism. The South depended on slavery heavily while the North was more industrial. The sectional conflict was caused by four different reasons. Those reasons being slavery, tariffs, representation and states rights. The south wanted more power because they feared that the North would pass laws to make slavery illegal. The North was against slavery. The North supported tariffs while the South opposed tariffs. Both the North and South wanted power to pass laws.

The Bigger Picture of Sectionalism

The Election of Lincoln

The Election of 1860 was an election that angered many Southerners. Many people were angered by this election because Lincoln was the only President elected that was a candidate within the anti- slavery party known as the Republicans. They felt that he would get into office and take away slavery. The Republican party was known as the anti-slavery because most people within the Republican party were against slavery. Not one Southerner state voted for Lincoln during the election of 1860.

Dred Scott v. Sanford

Dred Scott was a slave who sued for his freedom. He went to some free states with his owner and felt that he was a freeman after going to those states. The federal court felt that Scott was a citizen. The case soon went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court felt differently about the case. The Chief Justice said that African Americans could never become United States citizens and that the Missouri Compromise wasn’t Constitutional. This decision caused a lot of tension within the United States.

Dred Scott

Citations

http://www.ushistory.org/us/32e.asphttp://xark.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c5d3453ef0133f28f714a970b-pihttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Uncle_Tom's_Cabin_for_Children_book_cover.jpghttp://jasmynmarianaalyssa.weebly.com/uploads/6/3/4/6/6346194/1664240.jpg?322 http://www.270towin.com/historical_maps/1860.gifhttp://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/05/article-1083408-025F770F000005DC-884_468x372.jpg