Causes of the United States Civil War – AICE U.S. History

States’ Rights

The ideas that states, not federal government, should make final decisions that affect them.

Tariffs

Taxes imposed on imported goods that can create economic tension between states and the federal government.

Sectionalism

The period before the Civil War when the country was increasingly divided between the pro-slavery South and the industrial, anti-slavery North.

Abolitionist

A person who advocated for the ending of slavery in the United States.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that the authority of the government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, often applied to determine whether a territory would allow slavery.

Fugitive Slave Act (1850)

A law passed that required the return of runaway slaves to their owners, increasing tensions between North and South.

Compromise of 1820

Admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state, simultaneously maintaining a balance between the number of free and slave states in the Union

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)

A novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that depicted the harsh realities of slavery and strengthened anti-slavery in the North.

John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry

A failed attempt by John Brown to incite a slave uprising by capturing the federal armory at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, which heightened sectional tensions between the North and South.

Anaconda Plan

The military strategy developed by the Union to defeat the Confederacy, aiming to suffocate the Southern economy through blockades and controlling the Mississippi River.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

An executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that declared the freedom of all enslaved people in Confederate states.

Compromise of 1850

A set of five laws passed in 1850 that aimed to resolve the issue of slavery in the aftermath of the Mexican-American War. It admitted California as a free state, allowed Utah and New Mexico to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty, established a Texas boundary, banned the slave trade in Washington, D.C., and strengthened the Fugitive Slave Act.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Repealed the Missouri Compromise, which had prohibited slavery in territories north of the 36°30′ latitude line

Mexican-American War

Conflict between the United States and Mexico stemming from disputes over the annexation of Texas and the disputed border between the two nations.

Nullification

The act of a state declaring a federal law void and unenforceable within its borders, based on the state's claim that the law is unconstitutional

Election of 1824

John Quincy Adams defeated Andrew Jackson in 1824 by garnering more electoral votes through the House of Representatives, even though Jackson originally received more popular and electoral votes. The presidential election of 1824 represents a watershed in American politics.

Reform Movement

Periods where individuals and groups worked to improve various aspects of society by addressing societal issues and injustices

Election of 1860

The presidential election in which Abraham Lincoln won, leading to the secession of Southern states and the onset of the Civil War.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century doctrine that the expansion of the United States across the American continents was both justified and inevitable.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

A landmark Supreme Court case in 1857 that ruled African Americans could not be considered citizens and that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in federal territories.

Fort Sumter

The first battle of the Civil War, occurring in April 1861, when Confederate forces fired on the federal garrison at Fort Sumter in South Carolina.

Charles Sumner

A prominent anti-slavery senator from Massachusetts, known for his powerful speeches against slavery and his role in the Caning of Charles Sumner incident.

Andrew Jackson

The seventh President of the United States, known for his strong advocacy for individual liberty, as well as his controversial Indian Removal policy and nullification crisis.

Abraham Lincoln

The 16th President of the United States who led the nation during the Civil War and worked to end slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation.