Slavery

Slavery was the sole cause of the Civil War.  Every single reason has something to do with slavery. Slavery was why America was divided.

Dred Scott vs. Sanford-1857

Who was Dred Scott?

Dred Scott

  Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri.  His master brought him to Illinois where slavery is forbidden
and then brought him back to Missouri.

What Happened?

  Dred Scott sued in Missouri and a jury of 12 white men declared him as a free man and he was free. Two years later, the Supreme Court looks at his case and calls him back to court.  7 out of the 9 justices are pro-slavery and five justices owned slaves themselves.  Sanford's case is that Dred Scott can't even sue in the first place because he is a piece of property like a sofa.  If you bring a sofa to the north, you still own it, therefore, if you brought a slave to the north, you still own it.  Plus, you can do anything you want to the sofa and furniture can't sue, so that means Dred Scott wasn't supposed to be at court in the first place. They also said that the Congress doesn't have the power to ban slavery in the north and that the fifth amendment protects their rights, making it so that slaves were property not citizens. This was a real eye-opener to the north and they now fully understood how the Supreme Court was loaded with pro-slavery justices.  The decision infuriated the north bringing us another step closer to the Civil War.

Kansas Nebraska Act-1854

  The Kansas Nebraska Act essentially ignored the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and let Kansas and Nebraska decide whether they wanted to be a slave or free state.  Now this decision may seem like the best one, but it lead to chaos. Settlers from all over the country flocked to Kansas to vote. This led to many skirmishes starting bleeding Kansas. When Kansas turned into a slave state by popular sovereignty, the northerners felt that slavery would soon be nationwide.  This led to the Free Soilers to become the Republican Party.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin-1852

Cover of Uncle Tom's Cabin

  Uncle Tom's Cabin is a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This book was a major cause of the Civil War.  This was one of the few books in American history that have caused such and uproar.  In the North, people became aware of the true horrors of slavery to the personal level.  Some people in the south finally realized what they were doing and slaves were the same as them.  Most of the south however was outraged and named it an irresponsible use of distortions and overstatements.  The book sold over 300,000 copies in the north alone.  The British at first liked this idea of a divided country, but this book swayed the British and they made it hard for the government to support the Confederacy.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion-1831

Nat Turner

Who was Nat Turner?

  Nat Turner was born into slavery on October 2, 1800, in Southampton, Virginia.  He believed that he was a prophet and god sent him to help his people.

The Rebellion

  Originally, he planned to rebel on July 4, but he fell ill, and had to rebel on August 22, 1831.  Nat Turner started recruiting for his rebellion with a few trusty slaves, then gathered more than 70 enslaved or free blacks.  They discarded all their muskets and collected hatchets, knives, axes and blunt objects so they wouldn't alert anyone, plus fire arms are harder to come by if you're a slave.
  Nat Turner started with his own master's house at four o'clock in the morning on August 22, 1831.  He and his little group broke into his master's house.  They killed everybody but the infant.  They forgot about him.  A mile down the road, they realize they forgot the infant and went back to kill it.  They went from house to house, freeing enslaved blacks and killing the white people.  They killed over 70 white women, men, and children, making this the most successful slave revolt in the South.

Aftermath

  Militias are sent out to stop Nat Turner.  The rebellion is put down quickly, but Nat Turner manages to survive for two months before being discovered accidentally by a hunter.  He is tried and 3 days later is hung.  Dozens of other blacks are executed for allegedly being part of the revolt even though they knew nothing about it. About 200 blacks are killed and most weren't part of the revolt.  Rumors said slaves were revolting everywhere and blacks are killed and beat everywhere else, but eventually the whites stopped.

Compromise of 1850

What was the Compromise of 1850

  The Compromise of 1850 was five bills passed to help divide the land that was gained after the Mexican-American War.  It admitted California as a free state, giving Utah and New Mexico territories with the decision to be slave or free to be determined by popular sovereignty, ending the slave trade in Washington, D.C., and passing the Fugitive Slave Act.

In Favor of the Free States/North

  Admitting California as a free state was obviously in favor of the North because another state meant more representatives than the South in the House and Senate. Turning the capital free was a really big thing for the free states.  I mean like the most important city in your entire country and it is free. That's a pretty big deal.  Letting Utah and New Mexico use popular sovereignty to decide whether to

This is how the States were Divided When the Compromise of 1850 was Made

be a free state or slave state really wasn't in favor of either side, but the fact that there were far more people in the North than the South kind of tips the balance to the North.  Because the North's population is so much higher, it's more likely that those states would become free states.

In Favor of the Slave States/South

  Really, the only thing that was fully in the South's favor was the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act.  It was passed on September 18, 1850, by Congress. However, this new law was huge, absolutely amazing.  This law said that if you found an escaped slave, you had to give that slave back to its owner, and if you were caught helping an escaped slave, you would go to jail.  Most people that weren't in favor of slavery would help an escaped slave, but most of those people wouldn't risk their life for a slave and stranger.  Because of this, slaveholders wouldn't really have to worry about their slaves escaping, just this is enough to match the North's benefits.