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Events Leading to The American Civil War
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The United States Declaration of Independence
The parties involved in the Declaration of Independence were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Roger Sherman. It gave rise to the United States of American as a country on July 4th, 1776 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Declaration of Independence allowed slavery to exist creating the foundation for the Civil War in years to come. (Writing the Declaration of Independence, 1999) -
The Constitutional Convention drafts the new United States Constitution
The US Constitution was created by our founders Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. Included in the US Constitution was the 3/5th's law. This law dehumanized African Americans by counting them as only 3/5th of a human-being in regards to how they were represented. This law was a compromise to resolve a dispute about state taxes but further cemented slavery in our laws (The Constitutional Convention. (n.d.). -
Louisiana is admitted to the Union as a slave state
The entrance of Louisiana as a state in the union had a significant impact on the nation and helped continue the path to civil war. Living in Louisiana at the time were wealthy and free African Americans who had previously lived under French and Spanish laws. Black people living in Louisiana who thought life would be improved once entering the Union found themselves without the same rights they once had (History.com, 2009). -
State v. Mann
State vs Mann contributed to the Civil War by cementing into law the idea that Slave Owners had no limit to what they could do to slaves without punishment. This caused Slaves to rebel and fight back against their owners. Thomas Ruffin wrote in his deciding opinion "The power of the master must be absolute, to render the submission of the slave perfect" (State v. Mann, n.d.). -
The California Gold Rush 1843-1849
Between 1843 and 1849 The California Gold Rush contributed to the Civil war by bringing free African Americans and Slaves together. This occurred because Free Northerners known as Free Soilers and Southern slave owners moved to seek riches. Southerners were debating leaving the union to preserve slavery and popular Sovereignty also known as states rights (California Gold Rush, 2010). -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was an attempt to resolve the balance of power as new states joined the union. As states joined it was agreed that for every slave state there was a free state added to the union. This very controversial agreement was a major reason the civil war began. The compromise was brokered by Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas with the support of President Millard Fillmore(Compromise of 1850, 2009). -
The Kansas–Nebraska Act
The Kansas Nebraska act which was enacted on May 30th, 1854 established Popular Sovereignty which allowed for the people of each state to decide if they would be a slave state or free state. This act repealed the Missouri Compromise 1820 and led to a period of increased violence known as Bleeding Kansas (Kansas-Nebraska Act, 2009). -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott vs Sanford argued that a Slave who lived in a free state could not claim his freedom once returned to a slave state. This Supreme court decision established that Congress had exceeded its authority because it held no power to forbid or abolish slavery in the territories west of Missouri and North of Latitude 36:30. This fueled the anger leading to the civil war(The Supreme Court , n.d). -
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas who were both running for President held a series of 7 debates in Illinois. Each debate revolved around Slavery and its expansion into the Western Territories. The issue of slavery had so divided the country that. These debates led to the fracturing of the Democratic Party which ultimately lead to Abraham Lincoln becoming President (The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, n.d). -
Abraham Lincoln wins the 1860 presidential election
The 1860 Election of President Lincoln was the final straw for Southerners and directly led to them seceding from the Union and launching the civil war. The Civil war ultimately reshaped the United States and resulted in the deaths of over 600,000 Americans(The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, n.d).
