The Causes of the American Civil War

The Causes of the American Civil War The causes of the Civil War may be traced to a complex mix of factors, some of which can be traced back to the earliest years of American colonization. Principal among the issues were the following: Slavery Slavery in the United States first began in Virginia in 1619. By the end of the American Revolution, most northern states had abandoned the institution and it was made illegal in many parts of the North in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Conversely, slavery continued to grow and flourish in the plantation economy of the South where the cultivation of cotton, a lucrative but labor intensive crop, was on the rise. Possessing a more stratified social structure than the North, the Souths slaves were largely held by a small percentage of the population though the institution enjoyed broad support across class lines. In 1850, the population of the South was around 6 million of which approximately 350,000 owned slaves. In the years prior to the Civil War almost all sectional conflicts revolved around the slave issue. This began with the debates over the three-fifths clause at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 which dealt with how slaves would be counted when determining a states population and as a result, its representation in Congress.   It continued with the Compromise of 1820 (Missouri Compromise) which established the practice of admitting a free state (Maine) and slave state (Missouri) to the union around the same time to maintain regional balance in the Senate. Subsequent clashes occurred involving the Nullification Crisis of 1832, the anti-slavery Gag Rule, and the Compromise of 1850. The implementation of the Gag Rule, passed part of the 1836 Pinckney Resolutions, effectively stated that Congress would take no action on petitions or similar relating to the limiting or abolition of slavery. Two Regions on Separate Paths Throughout the first half of the 19th century, Southern politicians sought to defend slavery by retaining control of the federal government. While they benefited from most presidents being from the South, they were particularly concerned about retaining a balance of power within in the Senate. As new states were added to the Union, a series of compromises were arrived at to maintain an equal number of free and slave states. Begun in 1820 with the admission of Missouri and Maine, this approach saw Arkansas, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Iowa, and Wisconsin join the union. The balance was finally disrupted in 1850, when Southerners permitted California to enter as a free state in exchange for laws strengthening slavery such as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This balance was further upset with the additions of free Minnesota (1858) and Oregon (1859). The widening of the gap between slave and free states was symbolic of the changes occurring in each region. While the South was devoted to an agrarian plantation economy with a slow growth in population, the North had embraced industrialization, large urban areas, infrastructure growth, as well as was experiencing high birth rates and a large influx of European immigrants. In the period before the war, seven of eight immigrants to the United States settled in the North and the majority brought with them negative viewpoints regarding slavery. This boost in population doomed Southern efforts to maintain balance in the government as it meant the future addition of more free states and the election of a Northern, potentially anti-slavery, president. Slavery in the Territories The political issue that finally moved the nation towards conflict was that of slavery in the western territories won during the Mexican-American War. These lands comprised all or parts of the present-day states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. A similar issue had been dealt with earlier, in 1820, when, as part of the Missouri Compromise, slavery was permitted in the Louisiana Purchase south of 36 °30N latitude (the southern border of Missouri). Representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania attempted to prevent slavery in the new territories in 1846, when he introduced the Wilmot Proviso in Congress. After extensive debate it was defeated. In 1850, an attempt was made to resolve the issue. A part of the Compromise of 1850, which also admitted California as a free state, called for slavery in the unorganized lands (largely Arizona New Mexico) received from Mexico to be decided by popular sovereignty. This meant that the local people and their territorial legislatures would decide for themselves whether slavery would be permitted. Many thought that this decision had solved the issue until it was raised again in 1854 with the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Bleeding Kansas Proposed by Sen. Stephen Douglas of Illinois, the Kansas-Nebraska Act essentially repealed the line imposed by the Missouri Compromise. Douglas, an ardent believer in grassroots democracy, felt that all the territories should be subject to popular sovereignty. Seen as a concession to the South, the act led to an influx of pro- and anti-slavery forces into Kansas. Operating from rival territorial capitals, the Free Staters and Border Ruffians engaged in open violence for three years. Though pro-slavery forces from Missouri had openly and improperly influenced elections in the territory, President James Buchanan accepted their Lecompton Constitution, and offered it to Congress for statehood. This was turned down by Congress which ordered a new election. In 1859, the anti-slavery Wyandotte Constitution was accepted by Congress. The fighting in Kansas further heightened tensions between North and South. States Rights As the South recognized that control of the government was slipping away, it turned to a states rights argument to protect slavery. Southerners claimed that the federal government was prohibited by the Tenth Amendment from impinging upon the right of slaveholders take their property into a new territory. They also stated that the federal government was not permitted to interfere with slavery in those states where it already existed. They felt that this type of strict constructionist interpretation of the Constitution coupled with nullification, or perhaps secession would protect their way of life. Abolitionism The issue of slavery was further heightened by the rise of the Abolitionist movement in the 1820s and 1830s. Beginning in the North, adherents believed that slavery was morally wrong rather than simply a social evil. Abolitionists ranged in their beliefs from those who thought that all slaves should be freed immediately (William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglas) to those calling for gradual emancipation (Theodore Weld, Arthur Tappan), to those who simply wanted to stop the spread of slavery and its influence (Abraham Lincoln). Abolitionists campaigned for the end of the peculiar institution and supported anti-slavery causes such as the Free State movement in Kansas. Upon the rise of the Abolitionists, an ideological debate arose with the Southerners regarding the morality of slavery with both sides frequently citing Biblical sources. In 1852, the Abolitionist cause received increased attention following the publication of the anti-slavery novel Uncle Toms Cabin. Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the book aided in turning the public against the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Causes of the Civil War: John Browns Raid John Brown first made a name for himself during the Bleeding Kansas crisis. A fervent abolitionist, Brown, along with his sons, fought with anti-slavery forces and were best known for the Pottawatomie Massacre where they killed five pro-slavery farmers. While most abolitionists were pacifists, Brown advocated violence and insurrection to end the evils of slavery. In October 1859, financed by the extreme wing of the Abolitionist movement, Brown and eighteen men attempted to raid the government armory at Harpers Ferry, VA. Believing that the nations slaves were ready to rise up, Brown attacked with the goal of obtaining weapons for the insurrection. After initial success, the raiders were cornered in the armorys engine house by local militia. Shortly thereafter, US Marines under Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee arrived and captured Brown. Tried for treason, Brown was hanged that December. Before his death, he predicted that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away; but with Blood. Causes of the Civil War: The Collapse of the Two-Party System The tensions between North and South were mirrored in a growing schism in the nations political parties. Following the compromise of 1850 and the crisis in Kansas, the nations two major parties, the Whigs and Democrats, began to fracture along regional lines. In the North, the Whigs largely blended into a new party: the Republicans. Formed in 1854, as an anti-slavery party, the Republicans offered a progressive vision for the future that included an emphasis on industrialization, education, and homesteading. Though their presidential candidate, John C. Frà ©mont, was defeated in 1856, the party polled strongly in the North and showed that it was the Northern party of the future. In the South, the Republican Party was viewed as a divisive element and one that could lead to conflict. Causes of the Civil War: Election of 1860 With the division of the Democrats, there was much apprehension as the election 1860 approached. The lack of a candidate with national appeal signaled that change was coming. Representing the Republicans was Abraham Lincoln, while Stephen Douglas stood for the Northern Democrats. Their counterparts in the South nominated John C. Breckinridge. Looking to find a compromise, former Whigs in the border states created the Constitutional Union Party and nominated John C. Bell. Balloting unfolded along precise sectional lines as Lincoln won the North, Breckinridge won the South, and Bell won the border states. Douglas claimed Missouri and part of New Jersey. The North, with its growing population and increased electoral power had accomplished what the South had always feared: complete control of the government by the free states. Causes of the Civil War: Secession Begins In response to Lincolns victory, South Carolina opened a convention to discuss seceding from the Union. On December 24, 1860, it adopted a declaration of secession and left the Union. Through the Secession Winter of 1861, it was followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. As states departed, local forces took control of federal forts and installations without any resistance from the Buchanan Administration. The most egregious act took place in Texas, where Gen. David E. Twiggs surrendered one-quarter of the entire standing US Army without a shot fired. When Lincoln finally entered office on March 4, 1861, he inherited a collapsing nation. Election of 1860 Candidate Party Electoral Vote Popular Vote Abraham Lincoln Republican 180 1,866,452 Stephen Douglas Northern Democrat 12 1,375,157 John C. Breckinridge Southern Democrat 72 847,953 John Bell Constitutional Union 39 590,631