Causes of the Civil War part 2. The Republican Party Forms Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 split the Whig party Northern Whigs formed the Republican party.
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Causes of the Civil War part 2
The Republican Party Forms
• Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 split the Whig party
• Northern Whigs formed the Republican party
• “Bleeding Kansas” key to Republican rise
• Many people blamed Democrats for violence
• Nominated John C. Fremont for President in 1856• Republican position on slavery so unpopular in
South that his name didn’t appear on the ballot
The Election of 1856
• Democrats nominated James Buchanan• Had been out of the country since 1853• His goal was to maintain the Union• Didn’t speak out against or for slavery
• Know-Nothing Party nominated Millard Fillmore• Party split over slavery
• North: Buchanan vs. Fremont
• South: Buchanan vs. Fillmore
• Buchanan won but Fremont won 11 Northern states
The Case of Dred Scott• Owner had taken him into territories where
slavery was illegal
• After owner’s death he sued for his Freedom
• Case reached the Supreme Court in 1856• Ruled against him since he was not a U.S.
citizen and was considered property by the 5th Amendment
• Ruled that ALL African Americans, slave or free, were not citizens.
• Northerners outraged and turned to the Republican party to halt power of Southern slaveholders
How did it Contribute to the Cause of the Civil War?
• Said African American’s were not citizens
• Angered the North
• Showed what South could do about slavery if they got held of the government
Lincoln and Douglas Debate
• 1858 Republicans nominated Lincoln to run against Democrat Douglass for IL seat in Senate
• Lincoln stood against expansion of slavery, “a moral, a social and a political wrong” but didn’t suggest abolishing it.
• Douglas argued that popular sovereignty was the best way to address it, most democratic way
• Lincoln lost but became popular and strengthened the Republican party
John Brown Attacks Harpers Ferry
• Brown wanted to inspire slaves to fight for their freedom
• Wanted to capture weapons at the U.S. arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, VA
• October 18, 1859, 13 whites and 5 blacks killed 4 people in the raid
• Sent out the word for slaves to join them but none came
• U.S. Marines attacked and Brown and 6 others were captured
Reaction to Harper’s Ferry
• John Brown was tried and hanged
• Abolitionists tolled bells and fired guns in salute.
• Southerners were enraged by Brown’s actions and horrified by Northern reactions
How did it Contribute to the Cause of the Civil War?
• South was furious that someone was trying to rally the slaves
• North was happy that Brown tried to do something about slavery.
Political Parties Splinter
• Republicans nominate Abraham Lincoln for election of 1860
• Democratic party split on slavery and popular sovereignty• Northern Democrats nominate Stephen A.
Douglass• Southern Democrats nominate John
Breckinridge
• Constitutional Union Party nominates John Bell
The Election of 1860
• North race and South race
• Lincoln won North • Wanted to stop expansion of slavery, not
outlaw it.
• Breckinridge carried most of South
• North had more people so Lincoln won Presidency
• South felt Republicans wanted to ban slavery so saw the victory as a threat to the Southern way of life
Southern States Secede
• Southerners had threatened to secede if Lincoln won.
• Felt they voluntarily joined the Union so they had right to leave
• December 20, 1860 South Carolina seceded from the Union
• Within 6 weeks: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas
How did it Contribute to the Cause of the Civil War?
• Lincoln not voted in by the South (not allowed on Ballot)
• Showed what North would do if they held power (vote in a anti slave president)
• South secedes
Confederate States of America
• February 1861 became the Confederate States of America
• Jefferson Davis elected President
• Drafted a Constitution modeled after the Union one
• Supported state’s rights
The Union Responds to Secession
• Secession raised issue of majority rule
• Southerners were afraid Northerners would use majority rule to abolish slavery
• Northerners felt Southerners did not want to live by rules of democracy.
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