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Bacon's Rebellion
With many indentured servants obtaining their liberty, the search for new land increased towards the west. Conflicts arose when angry free young men confronted the Native Americans. This confrontation caused Bacon's Rebellion. As a result, many landowners started to use slaves because they would not obtain their freedom, meaning that they would not cause any future problems. The increase of slaves led to the Civil War because slavery would be one the reasons of the war. -
The Tenth Amendment
The Tenth Amendment gave all the rights to the people or States that the Constitution did not assign to the Federal government. With the passing of years, tensions burst out between State's rights and Federal power. Many of the disagreements between both sides ended up in the Supreme Court, eventually leading to the Civil War. -
The invention of the Cotton Gin
The Cotton Gin, invented by Eli Whitney, was a crucial machine for the South. The new invention was useful to separate cotton fibers from seeds and made the process easier and faster. Instead of there being a decrease in the number of slaves, the slave population increased because landowners obtained more land that needed more slaves. The invention of the Cotton Gin led to the Civil War because more slaves were needed in the South, meaning that southerners would defend slavery. -
The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was a major event in history where the United States acquired more than 800,000 square miles for fifteen million dollars from France. The Louisiana Purchase caused great discomfort between the North and South. The newly acquired land was to decide if it were to be free or slave. Later in time new issues would arose causing tensions between those who favored slavery and those who didn't. The Louisiana Purchase led to the Civil War because it started to divide the nation. -
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a direct result of the Louisiana Purchase where the U.S. was deciding whether to make MO a slave or free state. The Compromise stated that slavery wouldn't be allowed above the 36°30' line and MO would be a slave state. Once again, the North and South argued to their respective side. To not upset the Senate, Maine was added as a free state. This led to the Civil War because the differences between the two regions widen. -
Tariff of Abominations
The Tariff of Abominations was a set of tariffs that were upsetting to the southern states because it did not favor their farmers. Farmers from that region were not able to compete with new western lands. To be more specific, South Carolina was one of the states that did not agree with the tariff. SC saw secession as their only way out, yet A. Jackson did not allow such thing. This event led to the Civil War because it shows the clash between State’s rights and Federal power. -
William Lloyd Garrison and his American Anti-Slavery Society
William Lloyd Garrison, an abolitionist, started off by being an editor of The Liberator. Later on he and others founded the American Anti-Slavery Society. This society was an abolitionist group of people. This event led to the Civil War because it united abolitionist together to fight for their view on slavery, which led them to clash with southerners who were pro-slavery. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 is a compromise dealing with the decision of making new land free or slave. While CA was added as a free state, new fugitive slave laws were made. Not surprisingly, the N. and S. took ownership of their opinion about slavery. In this compromise the UT and NM territories were under popular sovereignty, meaning that the people decided for their state. This led to the Civil War because slavery kept being one of the motives for both regions to disagree with each other. -
"Bleeding Kansas"
"Bleeding Kansas" was a time period where physical violence was used by civilians from the North and South to express their views on slavery. These attacks occurred in the Kansas-Nebraska area and were caused over disputes of making KS a free or slave state. This led to the Civil War because this is the first time where physical violence is used by both sides to defend their beliefs on slavery. -
The Election of 1860
The Election of 1860, where Abraham Lincoln was elected president, was a major cause of the Civil War. Lincoln was elected president without receiving one electoral vote from the South. This upsets southerners and South Carolina is the first state to secede. In brief, the Election of 1860 caused the secession of South Carolina, which motivated the start of the Civil War.
