IN PROGRESS - Short term causes of the American Civil War

Who was the President of America 1856-1860?

Buchanan

How many rival groups ran for the presidency in 1860?

4

How much of the popular vote did Lincoln win in November 1860?

40%

What was an important geographical outcome of Lincoln's victory?

No votes from southern states

Which party were divided along sectional lines North vs South and therefore arguably added to the fortunes of the Republican Party?

The Democrats

What were the names of their two candidates?

Douglas and Breckenridge

Name two previous attempts at 'successful' compromises from previous centuries which had plugged the gap between North and South.

1850 compromise (Clay, Webster/Douglas), Missouri Compromise 1819/20.

What did many Confederate delegates to Congress do in December 1860?

Failed to turn up/resigned.

In December 1860 the Republicans in Congress rejected which set of Proposals?

Crittenden

Give three things that the Crittenden proposals suggested.

1. Extend the Missouri Compromise Line to the Pacific (slavery could be recognised anywhere south of this line in present and future territories) 2. Slavery to remain in Washington D.C. 3. No interference with inter-state slave trade.

Name two FURTHER proposals from the Crittenden suggestion

1. Compensation to slave owners for 'lost property'. 2. No interference with slavery where it already existed.

In Feb 1861 there was another failed Peace Convention offering similar proposals to the above. Where was it?

Washington

Give two ways in which the incumbent/outgoing President did not help the situation in 1860/1.

1. Maintained a difficult stance of not wanting federal coercion but disagreeing with secession. 2. Did not recall troops from Fort Sumter Allowed federal property to be overtaken in the South.

Give five ways in which Lincoln's actions did not help in 1860-1.

1. Maintained a strict silence - there was not much he could say. 2. Did not act until inauguration - could he? 3. Chose a whole Republican cabinet of all factions to pacify people. 4. Focused on patronage rather than forthcoming war. 5.Overestimated union sentiment in the south. 5. Opposed the expansion of slavery.

Which was the first state to officially secede from the Union in Jan 1861?

South Carolina

What else did they do to provoke the situation?

Sent delegates to encourage rest of South to secede

Name the 4 southern states which remained in the Union.

Delaware, Maryland, Missouri,Kentucky

The Confederacy was set up in Feb 1861. What was the name of the first Confederate President?

Jefferson Davis

Whereabouts did the Confederacy make their capital (HINT: it's once the Upper South had seceded)?

Richmond

On which day did shots ring out at Fort Sumter signalling the start of the war?

12th April 1861

Name the four Upper South States which seceded

Virginia,Arkansas,Tennessee,North Carolina

Argument that the election of 1860 DID made secession automatic

Lincoln was a minority president who the south hadn't voted for. His election symbolised the tyranny of the North and the end of Republican Democracy (in their eyes)

Argument that the election of 1860 DID NOT made secession automatic

Lincoln did not run on an abolitionist platform. The voting was not a particularly sectional affair - i.e. Breckenridge did not win a majority of votes. The South also had control of the Supreme Court (Slave Power Conspiracy) and there was no Republican majority in either house of Congress.

Where was the ORIGINAL capital of the Confederacy?

Montgomery, Alabama

Mississippi Convention on secession votes

85-15

Voting in S. Carolina on secession

169-0 (unanimous)

Florida convention on secession votes

62-7

Evidence of Unionist support in Florida

Co-operationists in the secession vote won over 35%

Georgia convention on secession votes

208-89

Louisiana convention on secession votes

208-89

Texas convention on secession votes

166-8 (then a referendum to ratify the convention's actions).