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Slavery First Brought to the colonies
In 1619, the first African slaves were brought to America to Jamestown, Virginia to work to farm the cash crop tobacco. This is a large factor into leading up to the Civil War because slavery was established into a significant diving factor between the North and the South. The South favored slavery while the North was working to abolish it at the time before the Civil War -
Maryland: Slavery for Life
Maryland becomes the first colony to acknowledge the concept of slavery for life due to the laws before saying that if a slave became Christian they were freed. This led to the Civil War by starting the concept of slavery for life. -
First Organized Protest Against Slavery
Known as the Germantown Protest, the first organized protest against slavery was organized by Quakers, suggesting that Christians should treat others the way they would like to be treated. Quakers argues that the actions that were taking under the institution of slavery were against the beliefs of Christianity. This leads to the first organized division between people against slavery, which was a large contender in the causes of the Civil War. -
Stono Rebellion
This uprising in South Carolina was the largest rebellion in British Colony history, and resulted in 21 whites and 44 blacks killed and the severe punishment of slaves. This led to the Civil War because it showed colonists at the time that slaves were capable of fighting back. -
The Pennsylvania Abolition Society
The Pennsylvania Abolition Society is created to protect rights of African Americans who are unlawfully slaves. This organization creates yet another division between the North and the South in regards to slavery. -
Declaration of Independence
The United States of America becomes an independent nation after the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson is signed, making America independent from Britain. This leads up to the Civil War because America is actually created into a country. It also states in the Declaration that "All Men are Created Equal" although slavery was still present and active. -
First State to Abolish Slavery
After Vermont establishes a government, it is the first state to completely abolish slavery. Yet ANOTHER factor leading to the ongoing division between the North and the South that led to the Civil War. -
1787 Constitutional Convention
Delegates discussed on whether or not to stop the importation of slaves, and states like Georgia and South Colina threatened not to join the Union. This led to the Three Fifths compromise as well which counted slaves as three fifths of a person in regards to representation. This led up to the Civil War because it divided southern states such as Georgia and South Carolina against the others directly. -
Constitution
The Constitution protects slavery, an includes the three fifths compromise. The Constitution led up to the Civil War because it stated the general guidelines America needed to follow, and since slavery was protected, it showed that the problem was still present and many people did not agree with it in the North. -
Fugitive Slave Act (1793)
The congress passed this act in order to legally seize and arrest runaway slaves. It also created a fee for those who helped fugitive slaves. This led to the Civil War because it restricted this who wanted to help slaves and it also made it easier to inflict violence onto fugitive slaves. -
Cotton Gin
Once Eli Whitney obtained a patent for the cotton gin, cotton suddenly became profitable. At a time where slavery was decreasing, the cotton gin produced an influx of need of new slaves. The production of the cotton gin resulted in more enslavement, which led to the Civil War by a new necessity for slaves. -
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Written by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, they claim that "the states can negate federal laws that go beyond the federal government's limited powers" which conflicted between the states that believed that federal government power should be larger and vice versa. This led to the Civil War because disputes in beliefs of who should have more power was a large contender in the reasons of why the war started. -
1800 Census & Slave Rebellion
The Census of 1800 showed that 17% of the population were slaves and slavery was virtually nonexistent in the Northern states. Gabriel Prosser organizes a rebellion where other slaves and him captured Capitol Square in Richmond, VA where they also captured Governor Monroe. This leads to more anger and divisions in regards to slavery that created tension which ultimately led to the Civil War. -
Ban of Importation of Slaves
In March of 1807,congressed passed a law that banned the importation of any new slaves into the United States that started January 1, 1808. This caused anger in the southern states due to the slavery institution being so large there. This caused another divide between the southern and northern states in regards to slavery which led to the Civil War. -
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society is created in order to send freed slaves to Liberia. It funded for about 10,000 freed slaes to go back to Africa. This caused anger in Southern States whom utilized their slaves and were afraid their slaves would end up being taken away. -
The Missouri Compromise
Missouri entered as a slave state and Maine was added as a free state. Slavery would be prohibited north of 36°30' of latitude, which was basically the southern boundary of Missouri. Many Southerners were against exclusion of slavery from such a large area of the country and thus led to another reason why the South wanted to secede which led to the Civil War. -
Tariff of Abominations
The congress issues new tariffs called the Tariff of Abominations which ensure economic benefits to the Norths economy but negative effects towards those of the south. This created anger and tension between the two sides which led to the South succeeding form the Union. -
North Carolina v Mann
In the case of North Carolina v Mann, the supreme court ruled that slaveowners had authority over their slaves and were not able to be be found guilty of committing violence against them. This was a step backwards in regards to abolishing slavery which caused anger in the North to abolitionists -
The National Negro Convention
A black abolitionist civil rights organization is founded to emancipate slavery and create freedom which conflicted with southern beliefs. This ultimately created resentment and tension between the two viewpoints which was a reason for the Civil War. -
The Liberator
William Lloyd Garrison starts to publish "The Liberator" which became extremely influential in regards to abolitionism. Many people started to become more proactive in regards to actually demanding for slavery to become emancipated. This conflicted with the views of the south who relied on slaves for their economy which led to disputes that translated themselves into the Civil War. -
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
A slave Nat Turner led an uprising that went through several plantations and killed around 60 white people. 55 slaves were tried and executed because their roles in the rebellion. As a result, education was banned and the right to assemble was diminished greatly.This angered slaves and abolitionists and created more tension between the morals of the north and the south. -
The Tariff Act of 1832
The Tariff Act of 1832 reduced and relieved the taxes placed on the South, but they still were not happy and threatened to succeed. South Carolina creates an army and declares the tariffs to be null. This threat to succeed built up what ultimately happens in the Civil War. -
American Anti-Slavery Society
The American Anti-Slavery Society is founded in PA which is an abolitionist group that is separated into five factions. This led to the Civil War because it contributed to the uprising of the fight to end slavery. -
The Compromise Tariff of 1833
The Compromise Tariff of 1833 made by Henry Clay ended the Nullification Crisis because the rate lowered. South Carolina withdrew its resolution because no other state backed them up. This led to the Civil War because the South states like South Carolina felt limited from what they could do, which made them want to become their own nation. -
Pinckney Resolutions
The Pinckney Resolutions say that the congress should not interfere with slavery, and if any form of idea that is against slaery should not be attended to. This leads to the Civil War by infuriating abolitionists. -
Martin Van Buren becomes President
In 1836, Martin Van Buren whom is part of the democratic party and is a South-Sympathizer becomes president. This led to the Civil War by having a bias president which made people of the North angry. -
Murder of Elijah P. Lovejoy
Elijah P. Lovejoy was an abolitionist writer who was killed by a mob in Alton, Illinois because of his views. His work caused hate by Southerners and Irish Catholics. This created anger and tension between abolitionists and people who were pro-slavery. This ultimately led to the Civil War because it dealt with the debate over slavery. -
Church Splits
Methodist Episcopal Church South breaks off from Methodist Episcopal Church over the disputes of viewpoints over slavery. This led to the Civil War because it divided religion based on the viewpoint of slavery and religion has a large influence on the lives of Americans at the time. -
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Published
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass depicted life as a slave and becoming free and offered insight to the world on what slavery is really like. It displayed the reality of slavery and caused people to open their eyes to the horrors of slavery. This led to the Civil War because more abolitionists became aware and motivated to change while southerners would not give up their slaves. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso banned slavery from what Mexican territory was given to America during the Mexican American War. Southerners blocked this law from them, and ultimately it was not used. Although it was not effective, the Wilmot Proviso increased tensions between the North and South which led to the Civil War. -
Harriet Tubman & The Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in Maryland and made 19 trips to the South using the Underground Railroad bringing slaves with her each time. This led to the Civil War because Southerners were angry their slaves were being taken away. -
The Nashville Convention
The Nashville Convention contained 9 states in which they discussed problems such as slavery, and discussed secession. They stopped the convention due to the Compromise of 1850 where there were laws placed in there favor. This led to the Civil War because was the first time all the southern states gathered together to discuss succession. -
The Compromise of 1850
In the Compromise of 1850, California entered the Union as a free state while New Mexico and Utah were slave states. Slave trading is banned din the District of Columbia and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 is altered to make it easier for Southern Slave Owners to retrieve their slaves from the North. This led to the Civil War because it added and diminished the policies for slavery which partially worked against and in favor of abolitionists and slave owners. -
Fugitive Slave Law (1850)
The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 stated that any runaway slave must be returned to their owner and it increased the fine of those who tried to aid the runaway slave. This created difficulty in escaping slavery and therefore anger from the abolitionists which led to the Civil War. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was an anti-slavery novel that exhibited slavery's affect on families. This novel helped encourage the abolitionist cause which led to the Civil War due to the southern opposing views. -
Franklin Pierce Elected
Franklin Pierce was a democrat who was elected president in 1952 and was pro-south. This influenced the Civil War by having a Democratic congress and a more southern leaning influence in the government. -
The Knights of the Golden Circle
The Knights of the Golden Circle is founded as an organization of pro-slavery members where they tried to increase slavery in Central America, the Caribbean, and Northern South America. This led to the Civil War because it completely went against the beliefs of abolitionists whom wanted to destroy slavery completely -
Sociology for the South
Sociology for the South by George Fitzhugh is a pro-slavery book where the "failure of society" is explored and justifications of slavery are created. This led to the Civil War by bringing pro-slavery motives and mindsets to the people at the time as well as angering abolitionists. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed territories to determine whether or not they would be a slave state or a free state by popular sovereignty. Hence whichever population was more, that would create the state's slavery status.This undermined the Missouri Compromise, hence the compromise was no longer effective. This led to the Civil War due to the odd influx of both parties in the different states in regards to slavery. The Act also resulted in the creation of the Republican party. -
"Bloody Kansas"
As a result of The Kansas-Nebraska Act, Bloody Kansas was used to describe Kansas in 1855. Due to the determination of slavery status based on population, many slave owners and abolitionists came to Kansas where they would undergo violent encounters. This created an even larger divide between the south and the north which led to the Civil War -
John Brown (1)
John Brown was an extreme abolitionist who killed five pro slavery white men from Pottawatomie Creek with the help of his 5 sons. Brown felt that the only way to achieve a slave free society was through violence. This influenced the Civil War by angering slave owners swell as compelling abolitionists to become more violent. -
Southern Wealth and Northern Profits
Southern Wealth and Northern Profits written by democrat Thomas Prentice Kettle explains why the economies of the North and the South are dependent on one another. The pamphlets were well liked by Southerners but resented by the North. This led to the Civil War by dividing the North and South on behalf of their views of economy. -
Commercial Conventions in South
Commercial Conventions were held in the South to discuss the reopening of the slave trade so that the institution of slavery could expand and therefore benefit them. This led to the Civil War because it completely disregarded the abolitionist belief to stop slavery in all. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
In the Dred Scott v. Sanford case the Supreme Court rules that congress could not decide where slavery is prohibited, that slaves are property, and that slaves cannot be citizens. Therefore the Missouri Compromise was declared to be unconstitutional. This led to the Civil War because many abolitionists had worked hard to get to freedom of slaves but they were just moved back three steps. -
Tariff of 1857
The Tariff of 1857 placed higher rates than 1812 which was highly liked in the South while disliked by the North which created a division between the two economically. This tax reduction dispute added yet another reason to fight each other in the Civil War. -
Lincoln's "House Divided" Speech
Lincoln's "House Divided" Speech explained the dangers that can be outcomes of a disunited country based on slavery saying "A house divided cannot stand." This influenced many people to fight for what they believed in. This led up to the Civil War by building up morale and motive to fight for what the individual believed in. -
John Brown (2)
John Brown the abolitionist was involved in another attack against Harpers Ferry, VA where fights General Robert E Lee but in the end is captured and hung. Due to the Norths sympathy for Brown, the thoughts of succession are increased by the South due to their view of Brown to be an extreme abolitionist. This ultimately adds to the already large divide between the North and the South. -
Abraham Lincoln is Elected President.
Abraham Lincoln is elected president in 1860 with more of the electoral votes than the popular vote. He was anti-slavery hence many southerners were not content with the outcome of the election. This led the leaders of the southern states to seriously think about succeeding due to the dislike in leadership which caused the Civil War. -
South Carolina Calls a Convention and It's Senators Resign
South Carolina called a convention with the delegates of the Southern states to succeed from the Union and the senators for South Carolina resign form their positions as well. This sparks one of the leading moments in the civil war. -
South Carolina Secedes
South Carolina secedes from the Union and puts out a statement stating that the government has been destroyed by those who do not hold slaves. This ultimately causes more states to join them and leads up to the Civil War. -
The Rest of the Southern States Secede
Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and more secede within days after the senate declines to review the Crittenden Compromise. These states and more ultimately create the Confederacy. This leads directly to the war by creating two sides. -
The War Begins
The war is ignited at Fort Sumter where the Confederates attack the union on April 12, 1861. The Civil War has begun.
