The American Civil War

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

• Required all citizens to help catch runaways

• Anyone who aided a fugitive could be fined or put in jail

• South thought it would make North recognize southern rights instead it angered Northerners

• Convinced North of evils of slavery

Dred Scott Decision

• Dred Scott sued for his freedom because he had lived on free soil

• The case reached the Supreme Court

• Court ruled that Scott was a slave

• Also the court ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional

• This meant Constitution protected slavery

`

From 1861, to 1865, for four long years

Americans fought and killed one another

The American Civil War

John Brown & The Raid on Harper’s Ferry

January 1861: The South Secedes.

• When Abraham Lincoln, was elected president, South Carolina was worried. Their delegates voted to remove the state of South Carolina from the United States of America. They were followed by the secession of six more states; Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. The border states of Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina soon followed.

• These eleven states eventually formed the Confederate States of America.

February 1861: The South Creates a Government.

• At a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, the seven seceding states created the Confederate Constitution, a document similar to the United States Constitution, but with greater stress on the autonomy of each state.

• Jefferson Davis was named the president of the Confederacy.

March 1861

• At Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, the new president said he had no plans to end slavery in those states where it already existed, but he also said he would not accept secession. He hoped to resolve the national crisis without conflict.

April 1861: Attack on Fort Sumter.

• When President Lincoln planned to send supplies to Fort Sumter, he alerted the state in advance, in an attempt to avoid violence.

• The U.S. commander of the fort, Robert Anderson, offered to surrender, but only after he had exhausted his supplies.

• April 12, the Civil War began with shots fired on the fort.

• With no loss of life, Fort Sumter eventually was surrendered to the state of South Carolina.

April 1861: Four More States Join the Confederacy

• The attack on Fort Sumter prompted four more states to join the Confederacy. With Virginia's secession, Richmond was named the Confederate capitol.